


dubai, baby

by alexenglish



Category: NCT (Band), SuperM (Korea Band)
Genre: Anal Sex, Armpit Kink, Blow Jobs, Bottom Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten, Canon Compliant, Dubai Vlog, Explicit Sexual Content, Foreskin Play, Getting Together, Lucas is doing his Best, M/M, Ten is horny and full of mischief, ear sucking isn't a tag but it should be, hand holding as a love language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:40:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 24,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28604598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexenglish/pseuds/alexenglish
Summary: The aquarium is crowded, and loud, and Yukhei is so preoccupied trying to figure out if he's grossed out or intrigued by the specific shape of this one grey fish’s head, he almost misses it when Ten asks."What?" Yukhei asks back.Ten isn't even looking at him, eyes tracing the blue glass of fish tunnel around them, but his body is angled back, like he’s offering Yukhei his ear, "Have you been on a date before?"That's what Yukhei thought he said.--Dubai realizations.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas
Comments: 67
Kudos: 246





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tmeachhh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tmeachhh/gifts).



> holy shit holy shit  
> I got into WayV at the end of the summer because Ten cursed my dick with his Everything. personally, I think, that MAYBE PERHAPS the [Dubai Vlog](https://youtu.be/s-3wU8q9wPA) is the MOST ROMANTIC thing known to man and MAYBE PERHAPS I was put on this earth to write at least 20k of words about it. 
> 
> let's pretend there weren't a ton of people taking shady photos of them while they were there and they were mostly in a bubble of bliss!
> 
> this is for [Tanisha](https://twitter.com/yukheisbde) because she let me unceremoniously drag her into WayV with NO MERCY not too long ago and she also bought me the photobook so... she deserves to have it in her name, even though I posted both chapters while she was asleep... I love you more than life itself :)
> 
> beautiful and biggest thanks to my beta, [Clarz](https://twitter.com/clarz) who just. did so much for me with this and helped me work the gnarlier scenes until they were perfect! and a shout to [Erin](https://twitter.com/sodapopbluez) who, alongside Clarz, has been so enthusiastic and supportive and caring and careful with me! thank you both so much.

The aquarium is crowded, and loud, and Yukhei is so preoccupied trying to figure out if he's grossed out or intrigued by the specific shape of this one grey fish’s head, he almost misses it when Ten asks. 

"What?" Yukhei asks back. 

Ten isn't even looking at him, eyes tracing the blue glass of fish tunnel around them, but his body is angled back, like he’s offering Yukhei his ear, "Have you been on a date before?"

That's what Yukhei thought he said. 

"I don't know," Yukhei admits, laughing reflexively. For some reason, he doesn’t want to tell Ten about any of his school dates. Knowing he was handsome made him way too cocky for how awkward he was around pretty girls. "Probably not." 

Ten doesn't say anything, nodding and drifting off a bit. Between the size of him and the way the brim of his hat is pulled low, Yukhei can’t see the expression on his face at all. 

"Have you?" Yukhei asks, once he realizes Ten isn’t going to follow that up in any way. It’s a weird question to bring up out of the blue, like some kind of filler interview question.

That makes Ten look at him, head tilting back. The blue of the tank catches on his skin, greens and teals, ethereal even in his adorable round frames and flame embroidered boyfriend hat. He smirks at Yukhei, eyes sparkling in that infuriatingly smug way of his. 

“ _Duh_ ,” he says, in English. “I’m not a loser.”

Yukhei rolls his eyes, face burning as he shoves Ten in the shoulder. It’s an embarrassed reflex, but it’s too much and Ten isn’t expecting it -- his face falls comically as he jolts to the side. They reach for each other at the same time, Ten’s hand fisting in Yukhei’s shirt and Yukhei grabbing him firmly by the arm to keep him upright. 

Ten huffs loudly, right at Yukhei’s neck. 

Yukhei does _not_ shiver. 

“Clumsy baby,” Ten scolds, voice high and saccharine, the way he gets when he’s truly going to dig into the bit. He smooths his hand from Yukhei’s collarbone down to navel, palm cool through his thin shirt as he straightens it out. Yukhei’s whole body twitches, but he manages to stay still, lets Ten drag his entire hand all the way down his torso and then step away. 

Except Ten doesn’t go far, he moves to Yukhei’s side and hooks their arms together. Yukhei can feel the pit of his elbow start to sweat as soon as their skin touches.

“Ten,” he warns. 

He doesn’t really know what he’s warning _for_ ; he’s spent enough time trying _not_ toattach any weird emotions to Ten’s casual conversations and casual touches, it's a reflex to flinch away from it -- whatever _it_ is. 

There are things Yukhei knows and takes comfort in. The fact that Ten touches _everyone_ , and he calls _everyone_ ‘baby’ is one of those things. It doesn’t matter how it may or may not make Yukhei feel, it’s a universal truth.

“It’s dark,” Ten says, back to Mandarin. He tugs Yukhei along, impatient. “We’re being friendly.”

Yukhei has no choice but to go along with him -- a puppy on a Ten leash. It’s not like it would break Weibo if they were seen arm-in-arm. This is a thing he _knows_ , but Yukhei feels sweaty and vibrate-y and weird all the same.

“What do you do?” he asks, brain still latched onto the topic of Ten and Ten dating and -- When Ten tilts his head in confusion Yukhei sighs. “On a date.”

There’s a pause while Ten pretends to watch a big blue fish swim by. Maybe he’s not pretending, but Yukhei knows the pause is for suspense. Ten is dramatic like that. 

“This, mostly,” Ten says, voice airy and musing. “Sight-seeing, shopping, eating. But I don’t spend the money.” Ten flashes him a toothy grin. “I like to be spoiled.”

“What?” Yukhei wrinkles his nose. It’s hard to imagine Ten _demanding_ a girl pay for all his meals. Even if she was older -- and Yukhei didn’t know Ten was into that but once he thinks it, he also thinks, _yeah_ , more vehemently than he expects himself to.

Hm. 

Then again, maybe that’s outdated. Women have their own money. Ten would probably date a rich woman, like a celebrity. Maybe he would specifically date a woman who was both rich _and_ older so that she could spoil him. That’s a thought.

There must be a look on Yukhei’s face because Ten is watching him, and laughing.

“Don’t hurt yourself, baby,” he says, tightening his grip on Yukhei’s arm reassuringly. 

“Do you date older women?” Yukhei asks, gripped by a sudden need to know.

Ten throws his head back and laughs louder, whole body going slack except for where they’re attached. Thank goodness he’s small; Yukhei doesn’t budge, just stands there in solid confusion as Ten clings to his arm and giggles into his sleeve.

“Sometimes,” Ten says. When he looks up at Yukhei again, he’s a lot closer. His dark eyes sparkle in the low light of the fish tunnel. 

Yukhei’s heart flutters uncertainly, fight or flight response kicking in as Ten’s gaze sharpens. He tenses when Ten steadies himself and comes up on his toes, suppressing a shiver when he feels Ten’s mouth brush his ear.

“Usually men, though,” Ten whispers. 

“Older men?” Yukhei can feel the phantom weight of his stomach somewhere around his shoes. The sweaty, vibrate-y, weird feeling is back and worse than before.

Ten huffs and drops back down, smacking Yukhei’s arm. “You’re so loud,” he scolds, clicking his tongue disapprovingly. 

“But you were thinking about a guy right now?” 

“Oi!” Ten hisses, moving like he’s going to pull away. 

Yukhei flexes, keeping Ten trapped in the crook of his arm, mind racing a bit too quickly for him to really keep up with. 

Ten’s head jerks up, already glaring. “Don’t act surprised,” he snaps, getting the look on his face that means he’s about to be upset for real. 

“I know that,” Yukhei says, a little helplessly. 

He _does_ , it’s not a secret or anything. There werea few deep and emotionally draining group heart-to-hearts where everyone talked about their major fears, and Ten’s was like _himself_ and who he was and how that might come off in their industry. And now Ten is happy with himself and being himself even if it means being quiet about certain things and --

“I mean _right now_ ,” Yukhei clarifies, when he finally figures out how Ten could have taken that the wrong way. “You’re thinking about being on a date with a guy right now?”

“I’m with a guy _right now_ ,” Ten huffs quietly. He looks down again, hiding his face from Yukhei, but his voice is back to that normal whiny edge it gets when he’s pouty in a cute way, and not pouty in a murder way. 

“Okay.” It’s all Yukhei can really say. Ten is with a guy, but that guy is specifically Yukhei and he’s not sure what conclusions he’s supposed to draw from that -- if _any_. It’s a little confusing but, “okay.” 

There’s still a defensive tension to Ten’s shoulders that Yukhei doesn’t know what to do with so he makes amends the best he can, unhooking their arms to take Ten’s hand in his own slightly damp one. 

As usual, Ten’s hand is a block of ice. It makes Yukhei’s hand feel so much hotter than it is as he squishes and squeezes to warm Ten's hand up. Yukhei can see the way Ten’s shoulders slump forward and relax, even if Ten does tilt his head back to narrow his eyes with purpose -- the promise of vengeance, probably. Yukhei is used to it.

“Are aquariums good places for dates?” he asks, trying to tease some normalcy out of Ten. It’s probably stupid to continue this conversation, but now Yukhei is curious and that’s Ten’s fault anyway. 

“Yeah,” Ten says. They have more slack now that they’re connected by hands and not arms, but Ten stays close, trapping their hands between their bodies, eyes back on the fish tunnel as they walk through. “If you don’t have anything to talk about, you can talk about fish.”

“I don’t know anything about fish.” Yukhei wrinkles his nose. “That orange one looks cool, that’s it.”

Ten laughs at him again, light and pleased. “There’s screens all over the place. You could read them.”

“Are they in any of the languages I can read?” Yukhei asks, genuinely curious. The Dubai Aquarium is globally renowned, or whatever. 

“Oh, probably! Or, _I_ could read them to you.” Ten laughs to himself, squeezing Yukhei’s hand before using it to gesture at the closest fish fact. “I should have told you all this stuff and pretended like I already knew it.”

“Too late,” Yukhei chirps brightly. Ten tries to shove him, but they’re _holding hands_. Yukhei tightens his grip and pulls Ten so hard they momentarily tip too far to the left, then sway right before stabilizing.

They’re really close again, and way closer to the glass wall of the tank than Yukhei usually lets himself get. The air around them is so warm it’s almost uncomfortable, but Ten is laughing in that loud, squawking way of his and all's right with the world yet again.

When they emerge from the dark of the fish tunnel, Yukhei lets his hand fall slack as Ten moves away to look at an interactive display. He tries not to think about the way Ten’s touch lingers in slow motion like he doesn’t want to let go at all, hint of his nails on the suddenly sensitive inside of Yukhei’s fingers.

He fails miserably, shoving his hand in his pocket so he doesn’t do something stupid like reach for Ten under the bright yellow light of the large fish exhibit. There are so many more people in this room than there were in the fish tunnel.

The staff filters into the space between them. Yukhei hadn’t realized how far behind they had gotten, too wrapped up in the bizarreness of the conversation Ten was trying to have. 

Yukhei still doesn’t really know what conversation Ten was trying to have, but he might be better off that way.

Between the staff and the exhibits, Ten doesn’t spare him more than a passing glance for a while. Which is fine with Yukhei, allows him to shake off the weird exchange and the sparkle in Ten’s eyes and all the clumsy rom-com moments that Yukhei definitely doesn’t know what to do with.

Admittedly, he lets his guard down. It’s almost out of his head completely when they get on the boat ride. It should probably be suspicious when, after at least an hour of not talking to Yukhei at all, Ten shoves his way to Yukhei’s side as they stand in line, but he isn’t -- too caught up in how content he is when Ten presses their sides together, scooting closer. 

It _should_ probably be suspicious when Ten makes Yukhei sit next to him instead of across even though it means Yukhei has less space for his legs, pressed up against the side of the boat, but he’s mostly thinking about how Ten’s hand is ice cold on his thigh as Ten twists around to get the staff’s attention, leaning almost too much of his weight on Yukhei. The last straw should probably be when Ten waves at the staff closer to sit around them -- effectively boxing the two of them into the corner, before turning and flashing Yukhei a smile that’s _suspicious_ at best -- but the weirdness of that is still processing as Ten’s hand comes up from his thigh and down, right on top of where Yukhei’s is resting on the bench between them, and lacing their fingers together.

It’s a very awkward way to hold hands, but it isn't anything that hasn’t happened before. Yukhei’s heart still leaps, feeling heavy and hot in his chest. 

What the hell.

Yukhei wiggles his hand a little, lifting his fingers up, and Ten presses down, not letting him go.

“What?” Yukhei asks. 

“What?” Ten asks back. 

Yukhei bucks Ten’s hand off his and rearranges things so their fingers lace together properly. There’s a small smile tugging at the corner of Ten’s mouth, but he still isn’t looking at Yukhei so Yukhei uses his free hand to reach out and nudge at Ten’s jaw gently, turning him.

“What’s up?” Yukhei asks, making his voice soft the way he does for his boyfriend bit, sounding concerned and ready to listen. There are other people on the boat, but Yukhei feels like it’s his right to fuck with someone who is fucking with him. 

Not that he thinks Ten is _fucking_ with him, but he is doing a thing. Whatever that thing may be, there is a goal in mind. And whatever that goal is, at least part of it seems to be making Yukhei’s hands sweat as much as possible. 

“Ah!” Ten squeaks, hand tightening around Yukhei’s as his eyes widen. They narrow immediately, because Ten isn’t a fool. He scoffs, but he’s blushing. “I like holding hands.”

“I know,” Yukhei says. It’s another one of those things that isn’t a secret, but Ten pretends like it is because -- well, Yukhei doesn’t really know. 

It reminds Yukhei of when they did the ‘research’ on each other, and Kunhang called Ten cuddly, and Ten tried to deny it in front of all of them even though he’s the most clingy person in the group, and how he acted like he was embarrassed about it even though he’s one of the most shameless people Yukhei knows.

At first Yukhei thought it was a being on camera thing, but now he realizes it’s a Ten thing.

“Then don’t ask,” Ten says curtly, turning away from Yukhei again. 

It’s fine, Yukhei doesn’t need attention. His hand is sweating, and it’s stressing him out. The good thing is that it forces him to focus on whether or not this is totally gross for Ten, and not on how hard his heart is pounding.

Yukhei tries not to be surprised by how long they hold hands, fingers laced until the small boat comes to a stop and everyone gets off.

It doesn’t actually occur to Yukhei until they’re in the gift shop and Yukhei is staring down a blue beaded bag with otters on it, that the whole situation is kind of fucking weird.

After the boat ride, Ten didn’t try to hold his hand again, but he did stick close and read Yukhei fish facts and laughed at the increasingly more dramatic ways Yukhei reacted to the exhibits. He didn’t even call Yukhei out for being too loud, or repeating himself, just kept laughing and clinging to Yukhei’s arm. At one point he laughed so hard at Yukhei, there were _tears in his eyes_. 

It was cute, and it made Yukhei happy in that way where he got all light headed and sweaty, but it felt… It felt -- 

Yukhei can’t even put his finger on it, because Ten usually doesn’t get like this -- especially when it’s just them and the bare minimum staff and no cameras.

The fact that Ten hasn’t bothered busting out the camcorder for the vlog is a whole other thing. Not that Yukhei wants to feel like he’s working, but he doesn’t know what this _is_ either. All he knows is that it’s weird, and it’s Ten’s fault. 

It’s weird, and he feels weird, and now Yukhei is standing the over in the kid’s accessories, staring down this stupid bag that caught his eye, wondering if Ten would like it. And honestly it’s a toss up if Ten _would_ like it because Ten is so particular about things, but Yukhei knows Ten loves animals and he also loves small to medium sized bags. 

He’s reaching for it before his brain catches up with making the decision, eyes darting around for Ten. It would be a dead giveaway if Ten caught him over here. It’s not like Yukhei makes a habit of buying small to medium sized bags for himself. Or anyone. 

Luckily, Ten is across the gift shop looking at plushies with a face that means serious business. 

Yukhei can’t let himself think about it, so he doesn’t. He keeps his head low and makes sure he walks at a very normal speed to the register to check out, thankful when he realizes the gift shop bags are completely solid and there’s no way to see through them as the gift disappears inside. 

He floats over to Ten when he’s finished paying, feeling like he got away with something super secret and great. Seized by unearned confidence, he makes Ten stand still as he shoves his gift into Ten’s tiny backpack. 

“What’d you get?” Ten asks, being obedient for once. It’s probably because he’s still deciding on the perfect penguin plushie. 

“Something for my mom,” Yukhei lies, knowing it will make Ten less nosey about what’s inside. “Won’t fit in my bag.” Another lie.

“Cute~” 

Yukhei arranges things inside the backpack, trying to put it in a place where Ten can’t nudge the bag open on accident. He might not be suspicious if he saw what it was, but better safe than sorry. 

While Yukhei’s shuffling things around, he accidentally zones out on the back of Ten’s neck. It’s been awhile since they’ve had haircuts, and Ten’s undercut is growing out. There are hairs on his nape that usually get buzzed when they round his hairline off, but now they’re fuzzy and dark.

Yukhei wants to bite him, a little bit.

“Are you trying to find something?” Ten asks, impatience edging into his voice.

“No, no,” Yukhei says, face burning as he zips the backpack up. “I don’t want it to get squished.”

“You _could_ carry it,” Ten says, but he adjusts the strap and is already moving away, one smaller penguin plushie clutched close to his chest. Yukhei follows, helpless to do anything else.

They round up presents for Wayv, a promise Ten made to Yangyang because he held one of Ten’s fancy styluses hostage right before they had to leave. They bicker over whether or not to buy everyone the same thing, and Ten bullies Yukhei into helping him pick out something different for everyone. Everything goes in the same bag, and gets handed to the staff.

The camcorder comes out when they finally leave the aquarium and Yukhei slips into an easy, teasing smile. Work mode: activate.

It’s easier to be Lucas than Yukhei when he’s around Ten, he realizes when he throws his arm around Ten’s shoulders and asks where he wants to eat. The nerves slip away in front of the camera. Any conversations they have, or touches they exchange, it’s all for other people. 

It’s not for him, in the dark, pressed too close together while his heart tries to escape his rib cage as Ten holds his hand like a lifeline. That’s too weird, too much, too focused. On camera, it’s a thing Ten does for the camera and that makes so much more sense than a thing he does for Yukhei. 

“Lucas~” Ten says, one hand angling the camera at them and the other around Yukhei’s wrist; his thumbnail scrapes against the thin, sensitive underside and Yukhei barely manages to suppress his shiver. 

He squeezes Ten closer in warning, but all it does it make Ten squeak out a giggle like a dog toy. “What?”

“Buy me ice cream.”

“Okay,” Yukhei says, squeezing him again. Ten giggles louder, leans into him harder. 

Yukhei’s smile hurts his face.

The ride back is quiet. The camcorder is in the bag and Ten is flagging, half asleep and slouched against Yukhei’s shoulder in the back of the car. They’re both technically in opposite seats, but Yukhei is leaning and Ten is leaning, and Yukhei’s face tickles where the car’s air conditioning is blowing Ten’s hair around. 

Ten’s hand is palm up on the seat between them, and Yukhei is aching to grab it. It’s all he can think about; how limp and soft Ten’s hand looks, the way his fingers curl towards his palm, his pretty square nails. His wrist is skinny and bony, and his veins are lifted just enough that Yukhei's eyes can trace them under Ten’s skin and over the side of his arm.

He jiggles his leg as softly as he can to get rid of the urge to twitch and move, to bump Ten off so he doesn’t have to think about where they’re touching and how he wants to touch _more_. 

It’s worse when it’s quiet. All Yukhei can think about is holding Ten’s hand, and how they held hands in the boat, and how they held hands in the fish tunnel, and Ten talking about being on a date when he and Yukhei were standing there looking at fishes. 

It’s all in Yukhei’s head, playing over and over, and Yukhei has to wrestle his mind away from reading any more into it than he already has. This is how Ten is, casual and confusing _always_. 

“Stop fidgeting so much, Xuxi,” Ten complains, voice low and rough the way it gets when he’s tired.

It shocks Yukhei so much he jolts, bumping Ten’s head off him. “Sorry,” he says quietly, and immediately feels weird about it. He should laugh loudly and do it harder and bug Ten _more_ , but he was caught off guard. 

“We’re almost there,” Ten says, shifting away. When Yukhei looks up, he’s watching with his sleepy face, half-mast cat eyes, and a slight frown.

“Yeah, thank god,” Yukhei sighs.

“Hungry?” 

“Bored.”

“You have a phone,” Ten snorts, digging into his shorts for his own. He looks at the screen, but doesn’t go into any apps, eyes still on Yukhei. 

“You were leaning on me,” Yukhei says, putting some whine into his voice like it was truly an inconvenience instead of… whatever it was. He looks at Ten’s hand now, wrist limp where he holds his phone, and tries not to feel any emotion about it.

“I need a nap.” Ten’s mouth softens into a pout that Yukhei tries not to feel any emotion about, either.

A nap sounds good, but Yukhei imagines going back to the hotel and parting ways for their separate rooms and getting his gift out of Ten’s bag and -- god forbid -- giving it to Ten within the next 15 minutes, and that honestly sounds like too much right now. 

“You said we were going swimming,” Yukhei protests, knowing damn well he didn’t even like the idea until this very moment and only because the alternative is worse. “I bought shorts!”

“ _You_ can swim,” Ten says flatly, pout disappearing as he raises his eyebrows in a challenge.

“No, you said _we_ were swimming. There’s video evidence and everything.” Yukhei reaches for Ten’s backpack on the floor, ready to bring out the camcorder and rewind hours of footage to prove himself right, but Ten is quicker, little hand snatching the bag out of Yukhei’s reach. 

“And if there is? I want a nap,” Ten complains, bag clutched to his chest. 

“Please,” Yukhei whines, switching tactics and making puppy eyes at Ten. “I don’t want to go alone.”

“There are people who will go with you,” Ten says, clicking his tongue disapprovingly. “You can see if any of the other members are here yet.”

“I don’t want to swim with the other members,” Yukhei says stubbornly, watching the backpack as Ten puts it down between his feet. When he looks up Ten, Ten’s eyes are narrow and suspicious. Yukhei flashes him a photoshoot smile, the one where he imagines sparkles in his eyes. “I want to swim with you.”

“Why are you being so pushy?” 

“You’ll have fun,” Yukhei says, ignoring him. He brings out the big guns and grabs Ten’s hand, running his thumb over Ten’s knuckles. Ten goes still, spooked, and stares at their hands. It’s always the _touching_ that does it. “You love water, you _fish_.”

“Pisces,” Ten sniffs. His head tilts up, pleased and preening. 

It’s a zodiac thing that Yukhei can never remember. He knows it’s something about water, and water means fish, and apparently fish means Ten. It was a long shot, but Ten lets out a big sigh. 

“Fine.”

Yukhei drops Ten’s hand and fist pumps. 

The problem is, he forgets the gift is in Ten’s bag. Riding the high of successfully convincing Ten to swim with him, he sails past Ten in the hotel hallway and gets into his room, nudging it shut with his foot and mentally congratulating himself before realizing he fucked up.

Both arms, which were raised triumphantly above his head, drop to his sides so heavily he nearly topples over. He turns towards the door, but he knows he can’t do anything about it. Knocking and asking for it might make Ten suspicious. If it was actually a gift for Yukhei’s mom, he would leave it in Ten’s bag until Ten dug it out and made him put it in his own bag. Hell, he would leave it in Ten's bag until they were back in Korea and Ten was _unpacking_. 

The staff gave him his shopping bags when they got out of the car, so he can’t say he left his shorts with Ten. Yukhei clenches his hand in a dramatic fist and shakes it at the door before letting out the loudest groan he dares. It’s up to Ten to mind his business. 

Yukhei is so fucked. 

He takes his time getting changed, thinking of excuses. He could play sick, pretend some of the food affected him badly, but that means if they go to dinner later, Yukhei can’t go and he doesn’t want that.

He briefly entertains telling Ten he wants to be alone, but rules that out on the grounds that he rarely ever wants to be alone. If he does, he wants to be alone at night to jerk off, and it’s the middle of the day. 

He does think about telling Ten _that_ , and makes himself laugh which is honestly a relief because he’s still anxious about that stupid bag. 

The last genius plan he can come up with is pretending to be asleep, listening for Ten to leave his room, and when he does, Yukhei could convince an easily won member of the staff to get a key for him because he left his things in Ten’s bag. 

Of all his ideas, it’s probably the one that’s the most thought out, but also the most risky one. Too many variables. The chances of Ten sweet talking a staff into giving _him_ a room key, and barging into Yukhei’s room if he didn’t come out again are dangerously high. 

Dangerous because Ten would probably be disappointed, or poke at him with his pointy little fingers, or try to suffocate him with a stiff hotel pillow for insisting Ten couldn’t nap in the car. Or, all of the above! 

It’s all too complicated to try to plan, so he sticks to the _plan_ and changes into swim shorts, grabs his towel. Mentally, Yukhei braces himself for Ten to have gone snooping, found the gift, and maybe a week of Ten not letting him live it down. 

In the grand scheme of things, it’s a forgivable offense. In the years they have known each other, Ten has seen Yukhei at much lower lows than hiding a gift for someone in that someone’s bag and expecting that someone not to be his normal, nosy self. 

With a renewed sense of determination, Yukhei makes it out into the hall. Ten isn’t waiting so he does what he always does, and knocks normally at a totally normal volume. 

“Xuxi!” Ten says, throwing open the door. He’s still shirtless and his swim shorts are tinier than the average swim short. Neither of which are ideal at the moment, but something Yukhei _is_ used to since they all prance around the dorm mostly naked. 

“Ten!” Yukhei says brightly, instead of thinking about Ten’s thighs. 

In his mind, he is always waiting for Ten to say something about honorifics -- _anything_ about them; correct him, or scold him, or make a face. And sometimes Ten does, if there’s a camera or if he’s in a mood, but more often than not he lets Yukhei talk however he wants, in whatever language he wants. It’s one of those _Ten_ things that makes Yukhei’s head feel like it’s full of Sprite. He doesn’t get it. 

“Almost done,” Ten says, fluffing up his hair as he lets Yukhei in his room. It’s the same as Yukhei’s, but flipped the other way around. Unlike Yukhei’s, it’s still perfectly neat.

Yukhei resists the urge to linger next to the door as Ten finishes up with whatever in the bathroom, so he goes deeper into the room. The little black backpack Ten was using all day is on the chair in the corner, closed up tight. 

The temptation to hide it under the bed and find a way to smuggle it out later is _strong_ , but if anything is going to get him caught out, it’s hatching a plan right under Ten’s nose. Ten is a bloodhound when it comes to scheming, Yukhei would rather not risk it. 

“I want your fruit,” he calls, spotting the plate on the desk. 

The cookie jar is, predictably, half empty.

“Please, take them,” Ten says from somewhere behind Yukhei. “I’m sick of looking at them.” 

There’s a hiss, and something cold and _wet_ hits Yukhei’s shoulder.

“Oi!” he startles, pulling away and swiping at his shoulder. It’s slick.

“Stop being a giant baby,” Ten scolds, brandishing a bottle of sunscreen threateningly. “I know you’re not going to put any on. Let me.”

“I am a giant baby,” Yukhei whines, smearing the sunscreen on his forearm. It leaves his fingers greasy. It’s not his favorite feeling in the world. “ _Your_ giant baby.”

“You are my giant baby,” Ten coos, nose wrinkling up cutely as he sprays Yukhei again, right across the chest. “So let me.” 

Yukhei yelps again because it’s cold, and Ten won’t stop spraying him in criss-crossing spurts. 

“Do it right, and I’ll let you!”

Ten rolls his eyes, but starts making exaggerated back-and-forth motions across Yukhei’s chest until he’s slick and ready for the sun. They repeat on his back and arms until Ten is satisfied, disappearing into the bathroom again.

Yukhei is flapping his arms to dry himself out when Ten reemerges with another tube in his hand.

“Sit,” he says. Yukhei sits. 

“What’s that?”

“Face cream,” Ten says, dabbing some on the back of his hand. He steps between Yukhei’s legs, leaning in.

“Ah, I can do it,” Yukhei says, grabbing his wrist. It’s a tiny wrist. 

“No, you’re going to smear it all over,” Ten says. He doesn’t try to pull away, just looks at Yukhei impatiently. “Then you’ll look like a clown, and it will take 15 minutes for you to rub it all in.”

“Fine,” Yukhei says. The word isn’t fully out of his mouth before Ten’s hand snaps free and the first dot of lotion is applied. 

If he zones out a bit, he can pretend it’s one of their staff touching up his makeup, soft fingertips daintily dotting sunscreen all around his face before rubbing it in with firmer strokes.

Unfortunately, he can’t stay zoned out. He’s far too aware of how close they are, and how Ten is shirtless, and how he’s leaning over enough so that his stomach folds over. It looks soft and Yukhei hates thinking about it, but it’s easier to think about than the fact that Ten looks adorable with his eyes nearly crossed and his tongue poking out in concentration as he rubs sunscreen on Yukhei’s chin, right under his mouth. 

The urge to bite a hand has never been stronger.

“Okay, good,” Ten says brightly, stepping away. He takes what’s left and smears it on his own face. It’s a much quicker process, his cheeks pinking up adorably when it’s all rubbed in.

“I could have done that,” Yukhei says. 

When it leaves his mouth, he means he could have done that to _himself_ , but after he says it, he realizes he could have done that for Ten too and thinks about their roles reversed and patting sunscreen on Ten’s face and -- he probably would have giggled too much and Ten’s mouth would have looked grumpy about it.

“Mm, I think not,” Ten says, like he’s considering it. 

Yukhei rolls his eyes but Ten misses it, too busy with the sunscreen and the face cream and a giant clear bag that appears out of nowhere with Ten’s towel rolled up inside of it. There’s Ten’s iPad tucked against the side, and a familiar black camcorder bag. 

Seeing it gives Yukhei a jolt. All the bags are the same and the staff has half a dozen on them at all times, but he knows for a fact that _that_ camcorder is the camcorder they were using earlier. Which means Ten definitely got into the bag at some point. 

Which means Yukhei is suspicious all over again while Ten is completely oblivious, finally shrugging on a gaudy button up that he doesn’t bother buttoning and shoving his feet into his slides. 

“Ready!” he chirps, spinning on Yukhei with a grin.

“Ready!” Yukhei replies, pretending the way Ten is smiling doesn’t make him dizzy. 

It feels like a miracle that they make it down to the first level in one piece. There was a brief moment of Ten grilling Yukhei about whether or not he needed a bag (he didn’t, his phone and keycard fit in his hand), and then Ten left his bag with Yukhei to run back for his sunglasses (so Yukhei put his phone and card inside, for safekeeping), and then he doubled back _again_ for Yukhei’s sunglasses ( _tsking_ judgmentally when Yukhei got his card out of Ten’s bag). 

Then, they had to wait even longer for their manager to decide if he wanted to go swimming with them while other members of the staff gathered around them in swimwear -- a short line waiting patiently against the wall outside hyung’s door until he finally told them _no_ he would not come. Which is totally what Yukhei told Ten was going to happen, but Ten wanted to _ask_.

All in all, Yukhei is glad that Ten went back for his sunglasses, considering how bright the sun is when they get outside to the pool. And he’s glad the staff are coming _without_ cameras. _And_ he’s glad the pool is pretty empty when they get there. 

It’s that sweet spot in the late afternoon where people are getting ready for dinner, so anyone left is spread out and leaving a comfortable amount of space between them and the next group over.

There’s a table and a couple of lounge chairs that Ten has Yukhei rearrange so they’re closer together. Yukhei drags things to where Ten is pointing vaguely until he’s satisfied, then gets sent off for towels to put down while Ten stands there with his hand on his hip. 

Which is fine. Mostly. Yukhei enjoys being helpful, but Ten smiling at him while he’s doing it is suspicious at best. Today is a suspicious day all around, and Yukhei decides not to say anything about him being a giant _weirdo_ , laying the towels out the way Ten wants while Ten makes noises about sunbathing. 

Of course, that is _not_ what Yukhei signed up for when he brought Ten down here so once Ten’s bag is down and everything is arranged neatly and he’s stripped his button down and reapplied sunscreen for whatever reason, Yukhei grabs Ten by the waist and runs to the edge of the pool to fling him in. 

The thing about Ten is that he’s denser than he looks, and he has better reflexes than the average member of WayV. Picking him up isn’t the issue, Yukhei successfully catches him off guard and Ten _shrieks_ at the top of his lungs. The issue is when Ten’s body realizes what’s happening and his feet plant right at the edge of the pool, forcing Yukhei to throw his weight into it and topple them both into the water. 

He was hoping to toss Ten in and gloat from a safe, dry distance but it’s almost equally as funny to be right next to him when he breaks the surface and starts complaining loudly about how he was going to wait to get in the pool, and now it’s _cold_ , and --

Yukhei laughs loudly and splashes him. Which makes Ten shout even louder and retaliate, until they’re both unable to breathe from the combination of laughing too hard and getting water directly to the face. 

“I can’t believe you,” Ten whines, when they finally reach a ceasefire. He’s panting, bead of water dripping off the tip of his scrunched up nose. He wipes his hand over his face and shakes his head, sending water everywhere. 

“I told you I wanted to swim,” Yukhei says, because he _did_. And he _does_. And he’s not going to paddle around by himself for however long while Ten sunbathes, or whatever he was planning on doing that involved staying outside the pool for an extended period of time. 

“You’re a brat,” Ten sniffs, but he isn’t making any moves to get out of the water, floating and swaying in place. 

As much as Yukhei didn’t want to swim early, it’s _glorious_ now that he’s in the water. Once he’s sure Ten isn’t going to be a sore loser and get out when Yukhei isn’t expecting it, he starts swimming around a bit, letting his body loosen up. 

Everytime he looks at Ten, Ten is doing the same thing. They go back and forth between the short sides a few times, play around splashing and trying to grab each other aimlessly, before Yukhei says, “We should race.”

Ten snorts. “Why?”

“It would be fun!” The noises Ten makes in response sound unconvinced, so Yukhei reassures him, “ _Just_ for fun.”

They argue logistics since Yukhei is taller and has a longer wingspan, and Yukhei makes a point about how they don’t separate swimmers by _size_ which Ten interprets as a short joke. There’s a brief interruption where he splashes Yukhei aggressively again, and Yukhei tolerates it before insisting they race. Again. 

Despite the way he _whined_ , Ten kicks Yukhei’s ass neatly from end to end and back again. Yukhei resurfaces at the start and Ten is casually leaning against the ledge of the pool, laughing at him.

“Are you a fish!?” Yukhei demands, looming over him. 

Ten laughs harder, head tipping back and mouth open, eyes curving into crescent moons of delight. The water on his skin catches the sun and glistens.

“Seriously, where is your fin!” Yukhei demands, ducking low to grab at Ten’s -- well, he’s aiming for his shins, but Yukhei is tall and he grabs above Ten’s knee instead, hand spanning over his thigh. 

Ten yelps and twists hard, trying to squirm away from Yukhei, and Yukhei has to save his life by dragging him away from the ledge of the pool so he doesn't concuss himself, pulling Ten underwater. Ten takes that as a challenge and launches himself at Yukhei the moment he resurfaces. 

Luckily, Yukhei has reflexes honed by years of sports and living with other teenage boys so Ten doesn’t manage to get close to dunking him, but Yukhei still has to talk him down from attempted murder and convince him to race one more time.

“For my dignity,” Yukhei whines, keeping Ten at bay by holding his wrists firmly and dodging anytime Ten tries to kick at him. 

“You’re going to lose,” Ten sniffs, but immediately stops trying to wrestle Yukhei, which is a relief. 

They let each other go slowly and get in position again, waiting until there’s a natural part in the crowd before launching themselves off the wall and -- Yukhei gets about three quarters of the way there before he stops and turns around, doggy paddling back to the start.

“Cheater!” Ten accuses, once he comes back from his journey to the far wall, popping up out of the water right at the shallow end. Yukhei can’t pretend he just got there either, too busy laughing at the outrage on Ten’s face. 

This time Ten does manage to grab him around the shoulders, pulling him down into the water and dunking him before Yukhei gets his footing back and bucks him off. They wrestle around for a bit, Yukhei’s ability to defend himself hampered by the fact that he’s still, somehow, laughing his ass off.

Eventually, Yukhei gets tired of it and lifts Ten out of the water to toss him as far as he possibly can. It’s not a far toss, since Ten is so sturdy and Yukhei can’t get much leverage with the water past his waist and he’s _tired_ , but when Ten surfaces, he’s giggling so much he inhales pool water. Yukhei counts that as a win. 

“You cannot defeat me!” Yukhei roars. Which Ten takes as _another_ challenge, and the play starts all over again. 

By the time Yukhei has tossed Ten the fourth time, his arms are going numb and he has to beg Ten to stop trying to dunk him in the pool. In reality he could probably stand there and resist Ten’s nagging, but he’s tired and Ten’s fingers are getting more grabby and insistent, and he wants to be able to walk back to the lobby without a boner.

“Okay, okay, you win,” Yukhei says, grabbing Ten’s hands again as they dive for his hips. Ten keeps setting his sights lower and lower, trying to disrupt Yukhei’s center of gravity or _something_. It’s terrible. 

“You don’t even know what I won,” Ten scoffs.

It’s true, because Yukhei has no idea what the game was. Was it the dunking? Or the tossing? Or was it the way all of that led to this: Ten cornering him against the wall of the pool even as Yukhei tries to hold him at arm's length once again, but this time with both their hands clasped together and their fingers laced. 

It certainly feels like something Ten would consider a _win_. 

“What did you win?” Yukhei asks, purely out of curiosity. 

“Ppoppo,” Ten demands, leaning his face towards Yukhei, elbows bending awkwardly when neither of them let go. 

Yukhei feels himself go hot all the way to his ears, but he kisses Ten’s cheek with an overexaggerated eye roll in case there’s anyone watching. The smile on Ten’s face is satisfied enough to make Yukhei’s stomach flutter as they part, swinging their arms and stirring up the water between them. 

“Ah, you wore me out,” Ten moans, focused on the tiny waves in the space between their bodies. 

“Oh, I wore _you_ out?” Yukhei asks. “I threw you so many times!”

“Aiya~ and who decided to do that!” Ten asks, finally letting Yukhei’s hands go so he can throw his own up in exasperation. He’s so dramatic, smiling wide, still close enough that Yukhei can’t stop looking at him; his hair is plastered to his head and his lashes are long and his cheeks are pink. So are his ears, even, glowy and blushy. 

Yukhei pokes his cheek. 

Ten licks his finger. 

“Oi!” Yukhei yelps.

Ten cackles and flutters away, getting far enough that Yukhei can’t do anything except splash him. He lifts himself out of the pool at the same time, water rolling down his torso in rivlets, dotting his shoulders. His shorts cling to his ass and thighs, and Yukhei lets himself look for a second -- okay, _three_ seconds -- before he forces himself to look away. 

“Can you help me with something?” Ten asks, turning to Yukhei with his bottom lip already pushed out in a pout. 

He doesn’t need to pout, Yukhei is already pushing off the ledge and climbing out of the pool. 

“Find me an umbrella?” Ten continues, smiling at Yukhei -- and his eagerness, probably. “The sun is so bright.” 

“Alright,” Yukhei agrees easily, twisting around and looking for one. He expects it to be far, but there’s one a few chairs over. Yukhei rolls his eyes but grabs it anyway. 

“Put it between the chairs, so it covers the table,” Ten says, gesturing with his hand as he picks up a towel and dries off his hair.

Yukhei does.

“Thank you, baby,” Ten grins up at him. 

“Anything else?” Yukhei asks. It’s supposed to be a joke, but once he asks he _knows_ Ten is going to have something for him to do. It seems to be the game, right now. 

“I would _love_ a smoothie.”

Yukhei laughs. He loves being right. “Why don’t you order? There’s pool-side service.”

Ten pouts up at him harder, effect slightly ruined by the way the sun is in his eyes. He squints. Yukhei moves so his shadow is shading Ten, and Ten grins. 

“It takes so long, you have to get their attention and wait and order.”

“You’re being bossy,” Yukhei informs him, even though he knows that Ten knows and he also knows Ten is doing it on purpose. He might not know _why_ , but he knows Ten is doing it on purpose.

“But you will, right?” Ten is beaming at him. 

“What kind?” Yukhei relents, picking up his own towel so he can stop dripping all over everything. He can’t even pretend he put up a fight there. Technically, he did ask. “Blueberry?”

“Yeah! A mixed one, maybe? If there’s any greens.”

“Of course,” Yukhei says, already making his way towards the snack bar. 

“No fruit!” Ten yells after him. 

There’s a short line for the register, which Yukhei is thankful for, able to recite their order in English over and over in his head after he decides which smoothie will fulfill Ten’s desire for _fruit, but no fruit_. 

He’s loud when he orders, laughs a little awkwardly as he says ‘yeah’ a lot to questions in English he doesn’t fully understand. There’s something about cup size, at least the staff member points to the sizes for that one. 

“Big one, big one,” Yukhei says, grinning. 

There’s some small talk that Yukhei does his best for. A brief moment of recognition while the smoothies are being made when Yukhei accidentally responds in Mandarin, but the staff only knows basic greetings. 

They trade greetings in four different languages while the blenders whir in the background and when Yukhei gets handed two giant cups, he feels like it was an overall success. 

“I said no fruit,” is the first thing Ten says when Lucas puts the smoothie down on the table and sits across from him. He slides his sunglasses down his nose and stares at the glass in disgust, then directs that same look at Yukhei. 

It’s true, there’s two strawberries stabbed through with a tiny plastic sword on top of his smoothie.

“I’m not going to ask for a ‘smoothie, no fruit’ in English,” Yukhei laughs. “Even I’m not _that_ stupid.”

"You're not stupid," Ten says, tone flat and reflexive. When Yukhei rolls his eyes, Ten grabs the plastic sword and brandishes it at Yukhei. "“Say ‘kebab,’” he commands in English. Smoothie slides off the fruit, and drips back into the cup.

Yukhei repeats the word dutifully, “‘kebab.’” 

“This,” Ten says, gesturing with it. “‘Fruit kebab.’” He shoves it towards Yukhei’s face and holds it there. Somehow, Yukhei doubts Ten wants him to just _take it_ , so Yukhei gets his teeth around the strawberry and tugs it off neatly with his mouth. 

Ten smiles at him, slow and syrupy. 

“‘Fruit kebab,’” Yukhei agrees, leaning forward for the other strawberry because now he _wants_ it. Ten pulls his hand back, making Yukhei chase him. Of course, Yukhei is a sucker and _does_. The legs screech, table jolting as Yukhei moves too quickly. 

The only thing that saves Yukhei’s cheek from being a _kebab_ is Ten jerking back to save his cup, smoothie slopping over the side as he steadies it.

“Down boy,” he scolds, face screwing up in the specific way that means he’s trying not to laugh. There’s smoothie over the side of his hand, but it’s better than the mess Yukhei has made of the table in front of him. 

Except Yukhei isn't going to lick up the mess on the table like Ten licks up the mess on his hand, pink tongue darting out. It's delicate, like a cat. Heat floods Yukhei’s whole body, if this was two years ago he would have gotten hard from seeing how pink and wet Ten’s tongue is. Luckily, he has more control over his hormones now, but he’s still staring which means Ten catches him staring because Ten notices _everything_. His head cocks to the side as he meets Yukhei's eyes and licks once more, for good measure. 

There’s a moment of terrible silence where Yukhei thinks Ten is going to clean up his entire hand that way, but he finally, _finally_ reaches for one of the extra towels, not taking his eyes off Yukhei.

"You made me all dirty," Ten says, scrubbing at his hand with more force than is maybe necessary. "That's no way to treat a date." 

"It was an accident!" Yukhei says immediately, so ready to defend himself it takes a beat for him to realize what Ten says. He opens his mouth to protest and Ten shoves the strawberry in it. Mouth closing on instinct, Yukhei’s lips catch Ten’s fingertips as he pulls his hand away. 

“‘Skewer,’” Ten says, while they pretend like that didn’t happen. Or maybe, Ten doesn’t care. Maybe he’s _fine_ with Yukhei’s mouth on his fingers. Maybe it’s _normal_ for him. “‘Fruit skewer.’”

“‘Fruit skewer,’” Yukhei echoes dutifully, feeling dizzy. 

“‘No fruit skewer.”

Yukhei repeats that, too.

“For next time.” Ten grins brightly and brings his cup up to take a sip of it, watching Yukhei from under fluttering lashes as he drinks through his straw, cheeks hollowing.

Normally, Yukhei would watch his nose while he took a drink because Ten’s nose is adorable and makes great shapes while he uses his mouth, but Yukhei can’t do anything normally right now so he looks away.

“Thanks for getting me a smoothie, Xuxi~” Ten says cutely in Mandarin when he puts his cup back down, off to the side so he can grab at Yukhei’s hand and pull it between them. His hands are colder than normal from the cup, fingertips damp as he skates his thumb over Yukhei’s knuckles for a brief moment before pulling away. “You’ve been so sweet to me today.”

“I’m always sweet to you,” Yukhei reminds him. 

“You are, aren’t you?”

Yukhei didn’t expect Ten to agree like that, already making a mental list of all the times he _has,_ publicly and privately, been sweet in order to prove himself. Those thoughts come to a screeching halt, tangling up in his head at that, and he stares at Ten for longer than necessary before laughing out loud to break the tension. 

“I’m going to get back in the water,” Yukhei announces loudly, as Ten blinks at him like he’s waiting for something else, something more. Diversion is the tactic here, instead of continuing down this path that may or may not lead to even more weirdness on Ten’s part. 

Apparently, it’s going to keep being weird whether Yukhei is actively participating in the conversation or not. His new coping mechanism is simply breaking the weirdness up into bite size pieces, making it manageable; cutting Ten off before he really runs away with a conversation in ways Yukhei isn’t expecting. Again.

“Your smoothie is going to get all melty,” Ten points out, gesturing to Yukhei’s cup where he’s had two sips of it, outside already beaded with condensation from the heat.

“Ah, it’s fine!” Yukhei says quickly, grabbing his cup and tossing his head back, bypassing the straw to chug smoothie straight from the side. The faster he finishes it, the faster he’s back in the water. The faster he’s back in the water, the less Ten can torment him with his hand-licking existence.

Around the middle is when the cold really catches up to Yukhei, giving him a brain freeze so sharp and painful he squeals and slams his cup down. Luckily, there’s not enough to make a mess. Unluckily, his entire head is an ice cube. 

“Ah, fuck!” he screeches, when his brain finally reconnects and he can use it again.

Ten is, predictably, laughing at him. “You went too fast.”

“I’m _dying_ ,” Yukhei moans pathetically, leaning his head in his hands. Trying to warm up his brain, or something. “I’m dying and you’re laughing at me.”

“You’re the one who wanted to chug the smoothie,” Ten reminds him. He’s closer now, cups out of range of any flailing limbs. A towel lands on Yukhei’s head, Ten’s hand rubs it over Yukhei’s hair, cradles the back of his head. Ten ducks his head to meet Yukhei’s eyes under the towel, and grins. 

“Don’t tease me,” Yukhei whines, grabbing Ten’s wrist to keep him close. Everything smells like smoothie and chlorine and Yukhei’s brain is thawing.

“I have to,” Ten tells him gently. “It’s a special clause in my idol contract.”

Yukhei laughs so hard he curls in on himself, dragging Ten’s hand with him, squeezing it tight like it’ll help get himself under control. It shouldn’t be that funny, but between the brain freeze and the sincere way Ten said it, it’s the funniest thing Ten has said all day. 

Yukhei can hear Ten giggling his head off too, feel the force of it through his arm, practically vibrating. When Yukhei looks up, Ten is close, eyes still sparkling with laughter.

There’s another moment of terrible silence where Yukhei doesn’t know what Ten is going to say or do, and for no reason at all, his heart pounds with it.

“You should swim,” Ten eventually says, head tilting as his eyes search Yukhei’s face. For what, Yukhei doesn’t know; he meets Ten’s gaze and waits. It looks like Ten is going to go on, but he shakes himself a little and pats Yukhei’s head again, scrubbing the towel over his hair one more time before pushing it off. “I’m going to check in with my mom.”

“Okay,” Yukhei agrees easily, trying to ignore the hot, tight knot in his chest at the look on Ten’s face. Swimming is a great idea.

It’s not as much fun without Ten, even when some of the staff beckon him over to a group of foreigner friends they made and they all play a rousing game of shoulder war where Yukhei gets to fret over whether or not he’s holding onto people’s legs too hard -- forever supporting his teammates because he’s too big for any of them to carry -- and trying not to fall. Another thing to tire him out, but it’s fun and he gets to yell “offense!” a lot and laughs so hard he gets a stitch in his side. 

Eventually, too many of the staff claim to be tired and he doesn’t want to have to shoulder anyone he doesn’t actually know, so he wanders back to their corner, desperately trying to entertain himself and not seem like he wants Ten’s attention too much. 

There are weather patterns in his head, learned ones that he doesn’t know where they came from. He’s never bothered to dig deep and figure it out, but it’s a Ten thing too. Days like today where he’s Ten’s singular focus make him cloudy. Not _gloomy_ , but cluttered, filling up with fluff and cotton and a little bit of confusion he’s never been able to pin down and find a reason for.

It always feels like he’s waiting for the sky to break; waiting for it to rain, or the sun to burst through. (And then he thinks about Ten’s smile, and thinks about how it’s so bright like the sun, and thinks that would be a corny thing to tell Ten sometime. Maybe.)

Yukhei does a few slow laps, circling and circling and not looking over at Ten, swimming in all the ways he knows how, and some he makes up on the spot; overhead strokes and swimming like a merman with his feet twisted together and floating on his back. 

He gets a mental picture of both him and Ten floating on their backs and holding hands like the otters on the bag he bought and it makes his stomach flutter violently, so he thinks about the fact that tomorrow is going to be the longest day of shooting ever instead and the butterflies go away. 

Speaking of Ten, Yukhei surfaces near him when he’s done playing around, and watches for a moment. An assessment, really.

He has his sunglasses off and his eyes closed. Probably because of tan lines, he’s wonderfully vain like that. Yukhei tries not to let himself linger, but it’s hard to ignore Ten’s body when he’s literally shining in the sun, all tan and slick from another round of reapplied sunscreen. And Yukhei isn’t stupid, he knows Ten has a good body. He sees it all the time, but he tries not to _think_ about it too hard. Because that would be weird, and maybe a little unprofessional if they’re working or whatever. Right now, it’s hard not to think about it.

The thing about Ten is that his proportions are wild. His shoulders are so wide, and his waist is so trim, and his body is so toned, and his legs are so muscular. And it’s terrible because Yukhei knows how strong he is, and how powerful his body is. And it’s so obviously beautiful when he’s dancing, but it’s also beautiful when he’s lying on a lounge chair and his toes are wriggling as he makes himself comfortable. 

Yukhei is so busy _not_ watching that he nearly misses it when Ten calls, “Tired, Xuxi?”

“How’d you know I was there?” Yukhei asks. His face is hot, embarrassed that he got caught. Even though Ten’s eyes are still closed, Yukhei is sure he knows there was staring happening. 

“You were splashing around before,” Ten says, sitting up and stretching. 

Yukhei watches the muscles in his arm stretch and flex as he reaches and bends, and then he can’t keep his eyes from tracking down to Ten’s armpit where it’s dark with stubble. Usually he shaves, but sometimes he waits and lets it grow so his skin isn’t red during a shoot. 

They’ve talked about it.

Sometimes, Yukhei shaves too, but Ten always shaves. 

“Yeah, a little tired,” Yukhei admits. Not _very_ tired, because Yukhei has the energy of a growing puppy at all times, but the queen sized bed in his room sounds so good after a full day of travel and mall-going and swimming. 

“Let’s do an interview before we go.”

“Uh, now?” Yukhei asks, already making his way over to the ledge so he can get out. He forgot about the camcorder completely, caught up in the euphoria of real and true free time. Everything comes with a price, he guesses.

“Yeah, c’mon,” Ten says, pawing through his bag to retrieve the camcorder from earlier.

Yukhei goes, grabbing his towel and drying off as he watches Ten turn it all on and press buttons and make kissy faces at the viewfinder while it detects the light and whatever else cameras do when they first boot up. Or, maybe he just makes kissy faces because he hopes it’ll make it into the video cut. It’s equally as likely.

“C’mon, sit,” Ten says, sitting on Yukhei’s empty chair and patting the space next to him. 

Yukhei wraps his towel around himself like a cape and sits, stomach fluttering with some unreasonable anxiety he can’t really pinpoint the reason for. 

Ten scoots in close when Yukhei settles, apparently not bothered by the fact that Yukhei is still soaking wet. “Here,” he says, bumping Yukhei this way and that; he nudges Yukhei’s arm, forcing it up around his shoulders and settles his arm around Yukhei’s back, cold hand on the jut of his hip. It forces Ten under the towel with him, and Yukhei thinks everyone will notice that Ten is not wet at all. 

Despite how cold his hands are, Ten is warm where their sides are pressed together. Yukhei shivers once, squeezing Ten closer. 

“Dubai vlog~” Ten says cutely, voice sliding into presenter mode as he looks at the camera. “We just got done swimming. Hm, should we do it in English?”

“Ah, if you want,” Yukhei says, as flat as he possibly can. Technically, Yukhei is supposed to be studying English, and it helps when there’s a fluent member with him, but English is not his favorite. 

“Just for a little bit?” Ten suggests, fingers digging into Yukhei’s side and making him squirm. “Easy questions?”

“Sure, sure,” Yukhei agrees quickly, trying not to move too much so they don’t end up toppling the lounge chair with their combined weight. 

Ten stops tickling him, grinning innocently. 

“You’re so mean,” Yukhei says in English.

“Good boy,” Ten says quietly. It’s too quiet to be good audio for the video, which is the worst part. Ten isn’t supposed to say things like that for Yukhei when he’s trying to be Lucas. Louder Ten says, “Dubai vlog~”

“Dubai vlog!” Yukhei echoes loudly, throwing his free hand up in victory. 

Ten says a quick introduction in English that Lucas catches every third to fifth word of. Recapping their day yet again, probably. Giving the editors enough material to work with five times over because Ten is good at knowing what the staff need from him, and if Yukhei follows Ten’s lead he knows they can’t go wrong. 

Yukhei watches himself in the viewfinder since he has nothing better to do, trying not to focus on the way Ten keeps nudging their feet together. Sometimes it’s just his toes squirming, other times he drags his foot up the length of Yukhei’s, smoothing over his ankle bone before descending back down again.

Ten tickles Yukhei’s side to get his attention. This time, Yukhei manages not to wiggle. “How did you like our date today?” Ten asks, eyes on the viewfinder. 

Yukhei’s brain fills up with Sprite. “Ah, date?” 

“‘Date,’” Ten says in Mandarin, thinking Yukhei didn’t understand the English even though he definitely did. 

“Uh, it was good!” Yukhei chirps in English, trying to channel any ounce of confidence he previously had after they left the aquarium. He feels shakier now, worn down by sunscreen and smoothies and the sweet smile Ten’s aiming his way.

“What was your favorite part?” Ten asks quietly in Mandarin, leading the question. Then in English, “‘Favorite.’” 

Right, Yukhei should probably keep explaining. For the video. Because they’re making a video. It’s _content_ , it’s for the fan. Yukhei tries to let himself sink into the safety of that, feeling his shoulders relax as he laughs. 

“My favorite part was the aquarium,” Yukhei says dutifully, still in English, trying to get his brain to cooperate. “All the weird fish. It was big. I like the penguins. And otters!”

“The otters were my favorite,” Ten cuts in. “I like the way they hold hands.”

“Uh, yeah, hands.” Yukhei nods emphatically, doing his best not to think of any other implications those words could possibly hold. He starfishes his free hand out wide. “It’s cute.”

“What else?” 

“I liked the boat ride,” Yukhei says, watching Ten in the viewfinder. There’s a second where Ten is surprised, eyes widening a tiny bit before his expression falls back into place, an extra softness to his eyes that Yukhei can blame on tiredness. “It was relaxing.”

“It was,” Ten says, laughing quietly. He rubs Yukhei’s side with his hand before squeezing one more time. His attention skips away from Yukhei after that, more quick English at the camera before forcing Yukhei to do a matching V pose with him. 

“Dubai ending fairy,” Yukhei says, as Ten turns off the camcorder. When Ten giggles loudly, Yukhei feels accomplished.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There’s champagne bubbling behind Yukhei’s rib cage as he laughs, fond and fever warm all over. He can feel the happiness in his fingertips as Ten winks at him. 
> 
> “Shower first,” Ten says. “And then, whatever.”
> 
> Right. Shower first and share Yukhei’s bed and then, whatever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> isn't it WILD how "soon" is SUCH an arbitrary word and even when you really think you're gunna bang out a chapter (pun intended) quick as possible, it still SOMEHOW takes like two months, dear god. for Ten's birthday I got him a Dubai dicking down. it fought me every word of the way, but it's here at LAST. 
> 
> all the sappy shit from chapter one still applies. I owe Clara my life, I will hold Erin's hand forever, and every word of this is for Tanisha.

Yukhei offers to carry Ten’s bag as they go up to the room, mostly as an excuse to put his arm around Ten’s shoulders again. It was comfortable at the pool, keeping him from feeling like he was going to vibrate out of his skin even with their sides pressed together, and he’s hoping it does the same now as the nerves come back like a swarm of bees.

It is dulled compared to earlier, when Yukhei was ready to do everything in his power to keep from having to give the gift to Ten then and there, but there’s a fierce buzzing in Yukhei’s head that’s making him feel slow and out of his depth. 

Vaguely, he knows that his shorts are dripping pool water all over the floor and his arm is starting to sweat where it’s sticking to Ten’s bag and Ten is talking to the staff about the shoot tomorrow, but all he can focus on his the way Ten still hasn’t shrugged him off, and how much closer he is to that damn gift with every second that passes.

“What’s up?” Ten asks, when they all get off the elevator. At some point, he started holding Yukhei’s hand over his shoulder; fingers laced through Yukhei’s, hanging there loose and casual. Yukhei is kind of annoyed he missed whatever made Ten decide to do that. 

“Nothing,” Yukhei laughs awkwardly as they make it to Ten’s door, squishing Ten close before disentangling himself under the guise of handing Ten his bag back. “Key?”

“Got it,” Ten says, pulling it out of his pocket and presenting it with two fingers. 

“Ah,” Yukhei says, face heating up as Ten takes the bag back. He only realizes after Ten takes it that he could have kept it, used it as a reason to get into Ten’s room and then, well -- 

“Are you saying goodnight?” Ten asks, sweet little smirk on his face as he leans back against the door and looks up at Yukhei. 

It doesn’t escape Yukhei that if Ten was one of those girls he took out in school -- if this was a _date_ like Ten keeps saying it is -- this would be his cue to lean down and kiss Ten. Something about his body language, the tilt of his head and the bright, daring look in his eye. 

And if he was doing this with _Ten_ , it’s exactly the kind of look that would have Yukhei crowding him against the door, making him feel small; grabbing at him with rough hands, but kissing him soft and sweet at first, just to tease.

“I have something in your bag,” Yukhei admits, before he does something stupid like pin Ten to the door and do exactly all of _that_. It's not a decision Yukhei can make right now.

“This one?” Ten asks, cocking his head and pointing to the giant clear bag. 

“No, the other one.” 

“Oh, right~” Ten twirls neatly and gets the key in the door, pushing it open with his foot and ushering Yukhei in.

It’s ice cold, air conditioning blowing. Goosebumps breakout over Yukhei’s chest. The water dripping off his shorts cools on his legs and he kind of regrets not drying off properly, but he spots the bag across the room and his whole body flushes warm in anticipation. 

“It’s on the chair,” Ten says helpfully, toweling at his hair. “Don’t sit down, you’re still all wet.”

“Sure.” Yukhei’s tone falls flat with nerves as he tosses his towel over his shoulder so he can use both his hands. He hopes Ten isn’t _watching_ or anything, he feels clumsy and reluctant as he opens the backpack up. 

It looks as full as it was earlier, Ten’s wallet and notebook and wet wipes; all neatly arranged. When he digs the gift bag out, he peeks inside, just to make sure it looks like he remembers: dark blue, one pocket bag with beaded patterns of flowers and shells and a pair of otters holding hands on it. 

Now that he’s more nervous than excited, the bag looks kind of silly in the yellow light of the hotel room, making Yukhei hesitate. The otters are cute, he reasons, and Ten _does_ love getting gifts, and it’s not a big deal. If Ten hates it he can play it off as a joke or something, tell him to give it to his sister. 

Yukhei clears his throat, half habit and anxiety, and turns. The noise makes Ten look at him, still over by the bathroom, head tilting like a cat; Yukhei can imagine ears perking forward as his eyes narrow. 

“I actually got you something,” Yukhei says. The gift bag crinkles loudly in his hand as he steps closer. 

“A _present_?” Ten asks, sounding reasonably suspicious. 

Reasonable, because Yukhei doesn’t _buy_ Ten things. Like for starters, he’s pretty sure Ten has more money than him at any given moment and then, he never sees things that he immediately wants to buy for Ten.

Except, today he did. So, here he is, thinking about the way Ten said he liked to be spoiled right before he reminded Yukhei he likes to date men, and then spent all day saying they were on a date. Okay.

“For you.” Yukhei shoves it at Ten a little too hard, trying not to be nervous and failing miserably. 

Ten’s face is still suspicious as he unwraps it. Yukhei feels his stomach drop somewhere around the floor again as Ten makes a complicated face that Yukhei can’t hope to read. The gift bag floats to the floor as Ten unfolds the purse, hands running over the bead work.

“The _otters_!” he squeals. “Ah, so cute! Oh!” His teeth chomp down on his lip the way they do when he gets too excited, looking up at Yukhei with sparkles in his eyes and pink dusting his cheeks. 

The first thing Yukhei realizes is that Ten is _blushing_ , and that Yukhei _made him blush_. The second is that he’s never in his _life_ wanted to kiss Ten more than he does in this moment. 

The intensity of it is _shocking_ , a fish hook in Yukhei’s belly. Legs tingling with how much he wants to move closer to Ten, hands aching to grab him and reel him in close. Brain chanting at him to _do it, do it, do it_ like Ten is a hot plate Yukhei can’t help but want to tap his fingertips against instead of a very confusing person in his life that he is, apparently, _dying_ to kiss.

Holy fucking shit.

“Holy shit,” Yukhei says, taking a giant step back.

“What?” Ten asks, frowning immediately and _stepping closer_. “Did you get the wrong one? This one is so cute, though!”

“No, it’s right!” Yukhei says, hands coming up to defend himself from Ten’s nearness and his concern. Ten takes it to mean that he has to come even _closer_ , which is Yukhei’s own fault. He forgot how Ten is, and how he interprets any sign of distress as a signal for physical reassurance. 

One of Ten’s hands close around Yukhei’s wrist, and it’s so _stupid_ how much bigger he is than Ten -- the way Ten steps closer and has to tilt his head up so they’re still looking at each other -- and it’s even stupider that it’s the only thing Yukhei can think about as Ten makes worried eyes at him.

The blush isn’t even fully gone from Ten’s face yet, but his expression is so serious -- so _concerned_. There are butterflies in Yukhei’s stomach and he hasn’t felt this annoyed with himself in a long, long time.

“You drive me crazy!” he spits in Cantonese, because he has to say _something_ and Cantonese is _safe_. It deepens the confusion on Ten’s face, but it allows Yukhei to wriggle out of Ten’s grip and throw himself dramatically on the bed.

“ _Xuxi_!” Ten shrieks. Totally different from his happy present-receiving squeal. Oops. 

“I’m not even that wet!” Yukhei says immediately, squirming around. Scolded didi mode: activated. He really didn’t mean to. 

“Your shorts are _so_ wet,” Ten practically growls. He tosses his head around for a moment before finding a place to set the purse down. Then, he _pounces_.

Yukhei yells as all of Ten’s weight lands directly on top of him. He’s too busy trying to keep his balls from being pulverized under Ten’s boney knee, he doesn’t realize Ten’s wrapped his skinny limbs around Yukhei until he pushes off the bed with his foot and sends them flying over the edge. 

The breath doesn’t quite get knocked out of him as his back hits the floor, but it’s a near thing. Yukhei blames _that_ for the way he blacks out for three seconds and comes to with Ten straddling his hips. His shorts are damp and cold against Yukhei’s skin, but his body is warm.

Like this Yukhei can feel the heat from Ten’s dick, it makes him want to press his hips up just to see what will happen. At the same time, he wants to shove Ten off him and escape to the furthest edges of the room so he can enforce a strict _no touching_ policy for the rest of their shared career at SM. Neither impulse wins out in his head, so he stays as still as he possibly can and tries not to breathe too hard.

“I can’t believe you,” Ten says, scraping his hair out of his face and reaching up to pat the bed. The movement makes his thighs tense around Yukhei’s, and Yukhei wants to evaporate right then and there. When Ten pulls his hand back, he sneers at it a little. 

“Sorry, Ten,” Yukhei says, voice sliding high. He doesn’t even believe it’s that wet, but he refuses to move. Even though he isn’t entirely sure what’s happening -- if Ten is really mad or it’s part of a Ten _thing_ \-- Yukhei knows keeping still is his best shot at getting out of it relatively unscathed. “I wasn’t thinking.”

“You weren’t,” Ten agrees. He wipes his hand on the bedspread. Yukhei doesn’t mention it. “Now, what? It’s so late, and my bed is all wet.”

“You can call for a change,” Yukhei points out. “Full service.”

Ten’s eyes narrow down to slits. “It’s _so_ late,” he says again. There’s something in his voice, something pointed. Something that Yukhei isn’t getting. “You want to bother the poor workers at this time? Make them come up here because _you_ jumped on my bed in wet clothes?”

“It’s their job.”

“What if my mattress is wet?” Ten asks, in the same voice. He folds his arms over his chest, thighs squeezing together as he moves. Yukhei’s hands snap out of their own accord and grab his hips to keep Ten from moving.

“I don’t think it is,” Yukhei says, strained. He’s going to pop a boner, and then Ten will be sorry. 

“What if it _is_?” Ten asks again. He doesn’t try to move away from Yukhei’s hands, but his stupid thighs squeeze yet _again_. 

The first thing Yukhei realizes is that this is another game. The second is that he’s losing.

“Then, you can sleep with me,” Yukhei snaps, tightening his grip. He definitely doesn’t miss the way Ten’s eyes go wide when he does, but he doesn’t know what to do with it so he ignores it. “Just sleep with me.”

“Fine,” Ten says brightly. 

Yukhei drops his hands and lies back, expecting that to be the end of it. An agreement was reached, Ten can climb off and they can get ready for bed, but all Ten does is stare at Yukhei, like he’s waiting for something. It makes Yukhei want to squirm and run away again, so he looks at the ceiling. 

Except Ten won’t let him _live_. He leans over, planting his hands on either side of Yukhei’s head to loom over him.

“Why did you buy me a present?” Ten asks. He smells like chlorine, and the last of the smoothie they had before they left the pool, and Yukhei is burning up from the inside out. 

“I thought you would like it,” Yukhei says, knowing he can’t hesitate or act cagey about it. He can’t give it away, even though he’s literally and figuratively backed into a corner. 

By now, he has figured out why he bought Ten a present, and he knows it wasn’t just some stupid impulse that came to him out of nowhere. And he knows that all the weird, bubbling, crisis-inducing feelings are like, real _feelings_. But he doesn’t know if Ten wants to know all that, so he tries not to say anything at all. 

“I do,” Ten says slowly. 

“I --”

“What --”

They both start and stop at the same time, and then stare at each other. The butterflies in Yukhei’s stomach refuse to go away. 

“You go,” he says. He doesn’t even know what he was going to say. 

Ten’s eyes narrow. They stare at each other. 

“What would you do?” Ten asks, after a moment. “At the end of our date?”

“Our date?” Yukhei asks, feeling himself draw in, shoulders pressing down into the carpet. Ten’s thighs tighten around him again, so Yukhei squeezes him _again_. “At the end of _our_ date?”

“Yes, _our date_ ,” Ten repeats, crossing his arms over his chest.

Yukhei props himself up on his elbows so he can see Ten’s face properly. It’s serious, but it’s also three seconds from collapsing in a pout. Probably the pout Ten wears when he’s being a sore loser.

“Why?” Yukhei asks. 

If this was any other time, he would play along and tease Ten with some line about being a gentleman and dropping him off at the door. They would go back and forth for a minute, and Ten would drop it, and Yukhei would go back to his room a little confused without knowing why. 

Right now it feels like there’s a blister on his palm, the ones he used to get at the playground as a kid. The ones that bubbled up and got water underneath them, and he’d prod at them with his fingers until they were weak enough to pop. It hurt, but it was _satisfying_ , necessary for building calluses. 

This feels necessary. The way Ten’s face falters for a moment before he steels himself makes Yukhei think he made the right choice. 

“ _Because_ I want to know.”

“What’s there to know?” Yukhei asks, letting enough laughter creep into his voice that it’s not too tense or too serious. “There wasn’t a date.”

“You don’t think that was a date?” Ten asks, scrunching his nose. “All day long? The aquarium?”

“You wanted to do that anyway,” Yukhei points out. “The mall was your idea!”

“Right, but we didn’t have to go to the aquarium,” Ten says, words going quicker as he gains momentum. “We could have walked around the mall and ate and then left, we went in and we were together the whole time. It was hours! We held hands. A _lot_.”

“You like holding hands!” Yukhei says, which is what he said earlier, and Ten said _I know_ , or whatever, and acted like it wasn’t a big deal at all. “We hold hands at least three times a month.”

“Oh, three times a _month_.” Ten sniffs disdainfully. “We held hands more than that just today. You said the boat ride was your favorite, and we held hands the entire time.”

“I like boats,” Yukhei says, sitting up more so he’s not leaning back on his elbows. Ten scoots back a fraction to keep their heads from colliding, but he stays in Yukhei’s lap -- arms still crossed, seriously pouting now. “It could have had nothing to do with your hand holding.”

“You bought me a gift!” Ten says, throwing his hands up in exasperation. Yukhei catches them both; mostly so he doesn’t get smacked in the face, but also for selfish reasons like hand holding. Ten doesn’t even notice. “You know if I was a girl, you’d see.”

“What makes you think that?” Yukhei demands, face going hot. His ears are probably red. 

Ten glares at him. “Because it would be obvious. We’re together. We hold hands. You buy me food when I ask, and presents when I don’t. You let me boss you around, and do stupid shit like try to figure out how to order a smoothie without fruit for me in a language you barely know.”

“Ah, Ten.” Yukhei laughs loudly, embarrassed.

Ten must interpret it as something else because he tries to pull away instead, but Yukhei still has a sweaty grip on his wrists and he can’t go anywhere. 

“It’s not a date because you didn’t say it was,” Yukhei says, when Ten huffs at him like a frustrated kitten and tightens his thighs around Yukhei’s lap again. There’s too much emotional turmoil happening for him to get a boner right now, but he’s going to remember that later, he knows it. 

“I said it like _fifteen times_ , Xuxi,” Ten whines loudly. He’s given up, going limp. Yukhei freezes as Ten leans his weight forward, forehead pressed to Yukhei’s shoulder. The smell of chlorine clinging to Ten’s hair fills up Yukhei’s head as he breathes warm and damp against Yukhei’s collar. “I said it off camera, and on camera, and then like three times just _now_.” 

“Oh.”

“Oh, right, _oh_ ,” Ten says mockingly, sitting up again. “ _So_ , Wong Yukhei, if we were on a date -- _our_ date, a date like _today_ \-- what would you do?”

“Can I kiss you?” Yukhei asks, making up his mind. 

“Oh my god, _finally_.” One of Ten’s hands slides into Yukhei’s hair and the other cups his neck, pulling him forward.

All thoughts of soft, teasing kisses go out the window the moment their lips meet. Yukhei inhales deeply, entire body burning lava hot. It’s instinct to let his jaw go soft for Ten to deepen the kiss. Ten takes the invitation for what it is, clever tongue licking into Yukhei’s mouth immediately.

Their chests press together and Yukhei groans from how good it feels, nerves lighting up and chest rumbling. He grabs Ten around to the waist, winding his arms tight to keep them close as he lies back down. It’s not the gentle letdown he hopes for, still too caught up in the fact that they’re _kissing_. The impact makes Ten bite his lip, but that just makes Yukhei groan louder, hips kicking up as Ten’s legs tangle with his comfortably.

"Oh," Ten breathes, pulling away to look at Yukhei’s face. 

“Oh?” Yukhei asks. 

“That’s good,” Ten says, ducking in for more kisses.

Unfortunately, Yukhei laughs into his mouth. 

“ _That’s good_ ,” Yukhei repeats, howling.

“What what what?” Ten demands, fighting Yukhei’s grip. Probably to sit up again, but Yukhei doesn’t want to do that, so he just squeezes tighter until Ten laughs and squeaks and wheezes into submission. 

“Of course, it’s good,” Yukhei tells him, once he’s settled down. It’s nice like this; pinned under Ten’s solid weight, Ten’s fingers idly trailing through Yukhei’s hair. His hand is planted on the floor next to Yukhei’s head to prop himself up, but every so often his thumb rubs over Yukhei’s neck. “It’s us.”

“ _It’s us_.” Ten scoffs softly. “We’ve never kissed before.”

“We should have,” Yukhei decides, and drags Ten down for more kisses. 

He doesn’t know how to say it so he won’t right now, but he thinks _of course_ it’s good because _it’s them_ because everything they do together is _good_. And they’ve always had this way of reading each other, and knowing what the other person wants. And Yukhei knows because they dance together, and they sing together, and travel the world together. And despite the fact that Ten is a deeply confusing person for him, in general, he’s also one of the people Yukhei trusts the most.

Okay, maybe he _can_ say it. Simply.

“I like you,” Yukhei says between kisses. He tightens his hold again so Ten can’t run, but Ten doesn’t pull back or strain, he goes limp in Yukhei’s arms, giggling into Yukhei’s collar wetly. The way his lips drag against Yukhei’s skin makes his entire body feel like it’s lit up in fireworks. 

“I’m glad,” Ten says, giddy but sincere. “I was worried you didn’t know.”

“I think I did,” Yukhei says, trying to be honest, wrestling his thoughts away from where they're hyper focused on how his dick feels and tries to put into words how his heart feels. The butterflies are back. He’s glad Ten is staying still in his arms and not trying to sit up, or make eye contact, or do anything that might make Yukhei too shy to spit any of it out. 

As if he can read Yukhei’s mind, Ten presses a kiss to the skin at the hollow of Yukhei’s flushed throat, but doesn’t say a word.

It’s true, he knows that much. Yukhei has always been _aware_ of Ten. He distinctly remembers the warm curl of nerves he felt in his stomach the first time he met Ten, and how he was so caught up in Ten’s pretty eyes he stared for longer than he should have, and Ten’s surprised little laugh when Yukhei shook himself out of it. That was the first time he felt the simultaneous thrill of confusion and pleasure that is now an everyday feeling he gets from Ten, and he knows that was something -- it’s always been _something_. 

But, he’s never thought about being _with_ Ten because there’s a difference between appreciating someone and wanting them, and Yukhei has to draw the line somewhere. Sometimes, not knowing is easier.

“I think -- ” he starts, because he knows it’s good to say ‘I think’ and ‘I feel’ and not make assumptions or direct statements in case he says the wrong thing. He really doesn’t want to say the wrong thing. “I think if I want someone, it’s too hard if I don’t know whether or not they want me too. So I try not to think about it.”

All Ten had to do was mention a _date_ and tease Yukhei a little more than normal, and Yukhei couldn’t take his mind off it the entire day. He can’t imagine if he had considered liking Ten at any point before today; if he liked Ten without any idea whether or not Ten liked him back. It would have driven him crazy.

Ten hums. “Usually you get what you want, though.”

Yukhei laughs, surprised. “Ah, I guess,” he admits. It’s true, in general, because he works hard and charms his way into everything. It’s true now too, he guesses, because Ten wants to go on dates with him and Ten wants to kiss him. And he didn’t even have to know how much he wanted _that_ to get it anyway. “Well, shit.”

That makes Ten laugh, high and sweet, right against Yukhei’s neck. “Well, shit,” he teases, dropping his voice low to mock Yukhei before saying, more seriously: “I thought you knew this entire time. I thought we both knew. I thought we were both waiting for the perfect opportunity to make something happen.”

 _Like Dubai_ , Yukhei thinks. “If I had thought about it, you would know. You know all my secrets.” Speaking of which, “You always say I know all _your_ secrets.”

“I didn’t think this was a secret,” Ten whines, peeling himself off of Yukhei so he can sit back; letting Yukhei get a good look at him for the first time since they started kissing. His cheeks are pink, flushed all the way to his ears. His mouth is bitten red, plush and swollen. One hand perches on Yukhei’s chest, one petting over his rib tattoo and the other kneading at his hip anxiously. “Seriously, Xuxi.”

“I’m _sorry_ ,” Yukhei says, propping himself up on his elbows so he can meet Ten’s eyes; Yukhei is laughing, but he _means_ it. Ten watches him back, head tilted like a cat. “I do like you. So much.”

“I believe you,” Ten says, rolling his eyes. There’s a tiny, pleased smile on his lips that makes Yukhei’s heart settle into place. "I like you so much, too."

He leans up as Ten is leaning down, meeting with a kiss in the middle before lying back down. Ten follows easily, settling on top of him again. It’s slow this time, sweet and settled. Maybe less about how his dick feels, and more about how his _heart_ feels.

It doesn’t last for as long as he would like though. After a minute Ten breaks their kiss, petting his hand through Yukhei’s hair. “We should get up.”

“Why why why?” Yukhei asks, arms going tight around Ten. 

“We can clean up,” Ten says, laughing and wriggling against Yukhei. “We can go to your room. Your bed. Where it’s comfy.”

“My bed?” 

“You know, where we’re sleeping.” Ten snorts, twisting out of Yukhei’s hold. Right, sleeping.

“Yes,” Yukhei agrees. Between the teasing and the kisses, Yuhkei forgot about Ten’s supposedly ruined bed and the fact that they agreed to share. Excitement twists through him at the prospect of kissing Ten goodnight, holding him as they go to sleep. The amount of times they’ve shared space, it will be different like this; different like _more_ , like better.

“Okay, uhm.” Ten’s tongue pokes out to wet his bottom lip. Once, then twice. “I’m going to take a shower, and you should go take a shower. And when I’m done with my shower, I’ll come over.”

“We can shower together,” Yukhei suggests. It isn’t something they’ve done before. “Save water.”

Ten snorts, nose scrunching up cutely. “I don’t think so.” He doesn’t even pretend to consider it. 

Yukhei pouts at him, but Ten is already getting up, groaning as his legs straighten. Yukhei stays splayed out on the floor, watching him as he rises, watching him stretch. The strong, lean lines of his body interrupted by the bulge of his dick, still half hard in his shorts. 

Yukhei giggles.

“Pervert,” Ten says warmly, dropping his arms. “Remind me not to make out with you on the floor.”

“You pushed me off the bed!” Yukhei reminds him, finally rising as well. There’s barely any circulation in his legs, but he prioritizes adjusting himself before shaking his limbs out. 

Between the kissing and the confessions, his shorts have managed to dry to merely damp, but he grabs his towel off the floor anyway. He catches sight of himself in the TV across from the bed, chlorine stiff hair sticking up in clumps, but he looks satisfied and well-kissed. It’s sexy. 

The otter bag is on the table under the TV, tossed there when Ten pounced on him. Looking at it doesn’t fill him with dread, finally. It’s a little corny, but it’s cute and it suits Ten. Buying was probably the best decision he’s made in the last week, at least.

When he turns, he catches Ten watching _him_ and grins. The look on Ten’s face is more contemplative than Yukhei expects; he cocks his head and waits. 

“I looked at it,” Ten says, frowning. “But I didn’t know it was for me.”

“ _Oh_.” Yukhei laughs; one of those big, belly deep laughs that make his whole body shake. He doubles over, barely catching himself on the table. It takes awhile to pull himself out of the giggle fit, way too overcome to think about calming down. He takes big gulps of air, shaking his head over and over until he can speak again. “I knew you would.”

“What?” Ten demands sharply, stepping forward threateningly. 

Yukhei gets his hands out in front of him to defend himself, but Ten doesn’t try to tackle him again, just laces their fingers together and tugs Yukhei in, making him stumble closer.

“You _knew_ I would?” Ten’s eyes narrow. They’re so close his head is tilted back at a ridiculous angle. He looks like an angry kitten, face all scrunched up and disapproving, but in a way that definitely means he’s teasing. The hand holding gives it away, too.

“You’re so _nosy_ ,” Yukhei says. And then he bites Ten’s nose. 

It’s a tiny nibble, barely any teeth, but Ten inhales sharply and wrinkles his nose like he’s about to curse Yukhei out, so Yukhei leans down to kiss him instead. The pleased noise that escapes Ten is muffled, hands dropping so he can grab at Yukhei’s hips. 

They’re back to deep, needy kisses. Yukhei lets instinct take over, hand sliding up Ten’s warm back to sink into his hair, ratty from the chlorine, tightening the tiniest bit -- just to see. Ten gasps against his mouth, back arching as he rises up on his toes, and Yukhei uses the leverage to bring Ten closer. 

It’s better when they’re lying down, Yukhei realizes, dicks more or less in the same place when they’re kissing. Standing, Yukhei’s inseam has however many centimeters on Ten, he’s stooped over and trying to pull Ten in at the same time, trying to make it work. It’s nice like this though, the intoxicating sense of control he feels looming over Ten as Ten stands on his tip-toes.

“We could, ah --” Yukhei uses the hand tangled in Ten’s hair to stop them mid-kiss, tugging him back just enough to get space between their mouths. Ten makes a needy noise, a slip that makes Yukhei realize how worked up he is. When Yukhei pulls back to look at him, Ten has this dazed look on his face that makes Yukhei giggle. “Do you want to…?”

Ten huffs softly. “I want to shower,” he whines, laughing and squirming away. Yukhei lets him go, for the most part, reflexively smoothing down the back of his hair as he steps away and keeping his hand on Ten’s neck. His face is so pink. “Shower, shower and then… that.”

“‘That?’”

“Whatever,” Ten says, eyes brighter when he meets Yukhei’s gaze. 

“‘Whatever?’” Yukhei presses. It feels rude to ask outright if they’re going to fuck -- he can’t just _assume_ that’s what Ten wants, but he is also intimately aware of the way people look at him when they want to fuck him, and Ten is looking.

“Whatever you want, baby,” Ten says sweetly, fluttering his lashes. 

“Why are you like this?” Yukhei asks laughing, tightening his hand on Ten’s neck, a questioning squeeze that makes Ten giggle. It’s always over the top, but Ten is just being _Ten_ with his sex eyes and his lip biting and the way his posture is so inviting; Yukhei aches to keep him close. “As a person, why are you like this?”

“You like it,” Ten says, smug and so sure about it. “You like _me_.”

Yukhei can’t argue, so he doesn’t. Which means it takes some time to get out of the room. Yukhei can’t keep himself from kissing Ten’s soft smile and Ten doesn’t bother pretending that’s not what he wants too, chasing Yukhei’s mouth anytime he so much as moves his head back to remind Ten they have a plan. Every single time, he ends up getting kissed harder, letting Ten walk him back until his shoulders are pressed to the door and Ten is pressed to his front. 

“Don’t touch yourself,” Ten says, a little breathless, when they finally manage to surface from their kisses.

Yukhei is so focused on how red and wet Ten’s mouth is, he doesn’t catch Ten’s drift, “What?”

“Don’t come,” Ten says, again. “In the shower, don’t touch your cock.”

“ _Ten_ ,” Yukhei whines, horrified. It’s bad enough they can’t shower together. 

“It’ll be good,” Ten says quickly, lacing their fingers together and giving Yukhei’s hand a little squeeze, like he’s trying to be reassuring.

Looking between them, Yukhei sees their hands -- _sure_ \-- but he also sees their dicks, hard in their shorts. Seems like a waste. “If you say so,” Yukhei says, making sure he sounds exactly as disbelieving as he feels. 

“I do.” Ten bounces up on his toes and presses another kiss to Yukhei’s mouth before untangling their hands and pulling away completely, leaving Yukhei with that familiar sweaty and vibrate-y feeling as he leans back against the door.

It takes a tremendous amount of self control to let Ten go, watch him as he grins at Yukhei beautifully and pushes his hair off his forehead. It’s so tacky from the chlorine, his bangs stick straight up.

There’s champagne bubbling behind Yukhei’s rib cage as he laughs, fond and fever warm all over. He can feel the happiness in his fingertips as Ten winks at him. 

“Shower first,” Ten says. “And then, whatever.”

Right. Shower first and share Yukhei’s bed and then, _whatever_.

It isn’t until Yukhei is forelorely staring down at his hard cock in the shower of his own room that he realizes he probably could have used Ten’s soft, sweet, fond mood to convince him to share a shower. Yukhei should have pouted at him, deployed a devastating grin, kissed him a little bit more. It might have worked too -- with Ten still hard for him, watching him with hungry eyes as he left the room. 

He knows that if they took a shower together, Ten would have teased him with his evil little fingers until Yukhei begged for mercy, but it’s not like Yukhei is going to come anyway -- he said he _wouldn’t_. At least, getting to see Ten naked and touch him while he’s naked -- and wet -- and maybe offer to wash his hair would have been better than _not_ jerking off by himself. 

Too late now, Yukhei thinks, as he showers thoroughly and washes his dick twice. When he gets out he brushes his teeth, and clips his nails, and briefly regrets not shaving before admiring the vee line of his hips in the mirror and deciding it’s fine.

It might be weird to answer the door naked, so Yukhei pulls on a pair of soft shorts and… Waits. 

The thing about Ten is that he takes long showers. It’s hardwired into him to take the longest possible shower in the entire world. It’s all the shaving and the washing and the -- Yukhei isn’t sure what exactly he does. Even if Yukhei shaves and does hair masks _and_ jerks off, he still won’t take as long as a normal Ten shower. 

And since Yukhei knows this, he tries to be patient, but it's _hard_ \-- semi-literally and figuratively -- because he’s nervous. The kind of nervous he gets before something big is going to happen. 

Which is ridiculous, since all it is is this thing between him and Ten. It’s just for _them_ , but he feels like he usually does right before a stage. The same delicious wind-up of anticipation that left him jittery and unfocused. Despite their long ass to-do list, and the travel, and the shopping, and the swimming, Yukhei feels like he could run laps around the hotel. His leg bounces in place as he pulls up all his messages, trying to distract himself.

Luckily, the WayV group chat notifications are in double digits. The rest of the members had their own day off back at the dorm, and when they’re split up like this, they miss each other too much to shut up.

Scrolling through the list of exchanges they all had without him, it feels painfully obvious there was something going on. Before the aquarium, he was as diligent as he usually is when they’re apart. An endless parade of stupid messages and pictures and stickers. After the aquarium, he was completely silent.

He knows it’s _probably_ not obvious to anyone but him. There have been plenty of times where he didn’t talk, or didn’t want to talk, or was too busy to talk even on a day off. But _he_ knows there was something going on, and any time he scrolls past one of the members asking what he was doing, he feels a confusing twinge of guilt. He knows he’s _not_ keeping secrets, but the afternoon felt momentous in a way that makes him _want_ to share. 

It takes immense effort to squash the urge to send a stupid text outlining exactly how the conversation in Ten’s hotel room went, but he does. Eventually, the rest of them will know some version of it or another. There isn’t much Yukhei keeps for himself sharing space with so many other people in his life, but _this_ he can hold close to his chest and let it warm him from the inside out, just for now. 

In his absence, the chat is full of stickers and voice notes, volleying mostly between Kun and Kunhang and Dejun. Ten didn’t respond much, and Yukhei doesn’t know if it’s because he _also_ felt like the afternoon was full of earth-shattering revelations, or if he just didn’t want to. Could be either, but Yukhei thinks about Ten straddling his stomach and whining about dating and thinks _maybe_ this afternoon was as earth-shattering for Ten as it was for him. 

The kissing put a lot of things into perspective, but his brain latches onto that and something in Yukhei’s heart clicks into place, warm and expectant. 

There are a couple pictures, though, ones Ten sent when they went down to the pool. A shot of the pool itself, a selca of Ten -- shirtless and wet and extremely hot, saved automatically to Yukhei’s phone -- and a picture of the smoothie, followed by laugh emojis from everyone in the chat. Which could be a fruit joke, or something Yukhei doesn’t understand at all. 

Under the laughing faces, there’s a photo of Yukhei on his back, floating in the pool. Ten sent a caption along with this one: _baby~_

It’s predictable and there is no one in the room, but Yukhei flushes regardless, feeling caught. He remembers the thoughts going through his mind right at that moment, too. Thinking about the bag and otters and holding hands with Ten; desperately trying not to feel like he was upending himself by thinking any of it. It was so easy to distract himself with thoughts of work, push away the butterflies, but Yukhei lets himself feel them now, dizzy in his stomach. 

When Ten knocks on the door he’s still damp from his shower, eyes hooded behind his glasses as he gives Yukhei’s bare chest an appreciative once-over, smiling at Yukhei wickedly as he slips through the door. 

He’s in another tiny pair of shorts, different from his tiny swim shorts, and an oversized black t-shirt with the otter bag slung across his chest, kicking his slides off the moment Yukhei lets him in. He seems determined so Yukhei stands back, letting him lock the deadbolt and whirl on Yukhei with pink cheeks and bright eyes.

“We have a wake up call,” Yukhei reminds him, voice somehow steady even though he feels like he waited one hundred full years for Ten to shower _and_ he’s pretty sure Ten is going to pounce on him once he figures out the physics of it. Something about how far they are from each other, and how much space they have in the hallway, and how fast he can get his tiny body up to a certain speed. Maybe. Yukhei is an idol, not a scientist.

“Exactly,” Ten says, shoving his hand through his hair. "Hyung has a key."

"Irresponsible," Yukhei says absently. "Kind of sexy."

"Or extremely responsible, considering," Ten muses, stepping up to Yukhei with a wicked grin.

"Considering?"

As predicted, Ten _does_ jump on him. A neat little hop from where he's standing, legs wrapping around Yukhei's waist automatically. Yukhei's hands come up to steady him. It's instinct to hold him around his low back, years of camera awareness taking over before Yukhei realizes he doesn't _have to_ and his hands slide down to cup Ten ass comfortably.

A giggle catches in Ten's throat, like he knows Yukhei’s exact thought process, as he nudges his nose against Yukhei's and presses their lips together. It's even more dizzying than it was in Ten's hotel room. Waiting did wonders to work Yukhei up, grip going tight on Ten’s ass and inhaling deeply the moment Ten’s tongue dips into his mouth, whole body tingling with awareness; a delicious twist of sparks that start at the base of his skull and slither down his spine, lighting up as Ten’s hand comes up to pet the side of his neck, his nape.

Ten keeps doing these infuriating kitten licks, pushing forward and pulling back, biting and soothing it over with his tongue before moving his head away and making Yukhei chase him. It makes Yukhei groan, needy, every single time he does it.

"Bed," Ten says, huffy and breathless.

The sound of his voice sharpens Yukhei's awareness; the heat of their bodies, the (already!) hard line of Ten's dick pressed against his stomach, Yukhei's own cock in his shorts. He's warm all over, buzzing with it.

"Bed," Ten whines, louder this time, digging his heels into Yukhei’s hips to spur him on like a horse.

"Why are you this way?" Yukhei wonders, even as he does exactly what Ten tells him to. Instead of a gentle and controlled let down, he unceremoniously dumps Ten onto the bed. Ten yelps and bounces and dissolves into giggles, cheeks going pink.

"Why are _you_ this way?" Ten asks, propping himself up on his elbows and checking Yukhei out with a sweeping gaze. Yukhei bites his lip and grabs the thick line of his dick in his shorts and winks. Ten throws a pillow at him. "That's exactly what I mean!"

"You like it," Yukhei chirps, knowing it will make Ten laugh.

As predicted, Ten throws his head back and laughs and Yukhei dives on top of him, straddling his lap so he can press his nose against Ten's long throat. The noise that cuts off Ten's laugh is something like a purr, surprised and content, and Yukhei can feel it vibrating as he noses against Ten's Adam's apple.

"You're so pretty," Yukhei admits, hushed. It's quiet compared to Ten's bursting laugh, it makes Yukhei want to hide, but when Ten talks Yukhei can hear his smile.

"You are too, baby." This time when Ten laughs it's different, quieter and more gentle. He cups the back of Yukhei's neck, smoothing his fingers over Yukhei's scalp. "I always thought you were."

"Of course," Yukhei says loudly, embarrassed. “Because I _am_.”

Ten snorts and tugs Yukhei's hair forcefully so Yukhei raises his head. "Shut up," he demands, before kissing Yukhei soundly.

"I like this method," Yukhei says, letting himself be kissed before not shutting up at all. "I think you need to shut me up like this from now on."

"It's not shutting you up now!" Ten says -- giggles, really, right into Yukhei's mouth as Yukhei tries to go back to kissing. "None of this is working."

"I'll make it work," Yukhei promises, and adjusts himself to take the weight off Ten. It gives him enough room to get his arm around Ten's back and hike them both higher up the bed. Ten makes more discontent noises, but doesn't fight him, going limp for Yukhei as he presses more kisses to Ten's neck.

The movement pulls Ten's shirt up his stomach on accident, and Yukhei's hands find his skin on instinct; palming the entire width of his soft, warm belly. It's a sweet tease, but Yukhei feels like he's been hard for his whole life at this point and he's impatient.

He sits back to give himself enough room to use both his hands, pulling the otter bag off Ten’s shoulder -- set to the side on the bed -- and pushing Ten's shirt up to his armpits. The corners of Ten’s mouth twitch with amusement as he takes his glasses off for Yukhei to put on the nightstand and raises both his arms so Yukhei can take his shirt off. Yukhei does both gladly, flinging the shirt somewhere behind him.

"Oi, that's new," Ten complains, arms still lifted.

Yukhei grunts, too preoccupied with checking Ten out to bother responding -- it's not the first designer shirt he's thrown on the floor, it won't be the last. Looking at Ten is different now, different than before. Now he _gets to_ look, he’s _allowed_.

Different from all those moments of looking but not looking, every moment he's ever found Ten distracting and wrestled his attention away so he wouldn’t think about it for too long or too hard. Different from the pool, still desperately trying to pull his mind away from how Ten looked half-naked and wet. Even different than Ten's hotel room, Yukhei was too focused on the confusing thrill of getting to kiss Ten for the first time he didn't bother thinking about Ten's body in the context of getting to touch his body, or kiss his body, or _sleep with_ his body --

Overcome by emotion, Yukhei licks Ten's armpit.

It's smooth, now -- Yukhei assumes Ten shaved his entire body in the shower, and he's looking forward to finding out whether or not he's right over the course of undressing Ten. Ten shrieks and twists against the bed, but Yukhei leans his weight on Ten's hips and pins down his arm until he stills, watching Yukhei with wide eyes.

"You shaved," Yukhei tells him, nosing the soft skin of his pit. Pressing a kiss there. Every time his lips brush a spot Ten whimpers softly. It's not a bad noise. The next time Yukhei licks, he makes sure to do it in a firm, broad stroke so it's less sensitive. This time Ten groans, hips bucking up. Yukhei grins. "I like when you shave."

"Oh my god," Ten huffs, still tense. 

It was going to be a joke, but Yukhei is into it and seems like Ten is _also_ into it. For as squirmy and ticklish as Ten usually is, he just lies there with his mouth hanging open while Yukhei mouths at his pit, eyes flicking up to Ten’s face to get a gauge on how he feels as he nuzzles in. 

There are other things to get too though, so Yukhei sucks a hickey right where Ten's pit curves into his pec, next to his scar before pressing a kiss to his dark nipple.

Ten whines at that, high and reedy in his throat so Yukhei does it again, more open-mouthed this time, letting his teeth skate over the peak of Ten’s nipple. Ten’s breath catches, body bowing deliciously upwards, pushing his chest into Yukhei’s face even more. 

“Sensitive,” Yukhei says, voice rough and low, letting his hand take over as he pulls back; palming Ten’s chest and using the blunt nail of his thumb to scrape over Ten’s nipple, following the line of his muscle up -- back to his armpit. Yukhei palms it, warm and wet from his spit, and leans up to kiss Ten. 

Ten kisses back with more teeth than anything, licking into Yukhei’s mouth demandingly. Yukhei’s hands slide down to Ten’s hips, grabbing roughly and pulling their bodies together. Yukhei feels hot, explosive as their hips meet and they grind against each other, sloppy and desperate.

It’s easy to get lost in the haze of it; the disorienting warm, wet heat of their mouths and all their points of contact. Ten’s hand gripping his neck and sliding into his hair, the other gripping his bicep. The way Ten’s hips move against Yukhei anytime Yukhei touches somewhere new. And Yukhei is touching without thinking, pressing and grabbing and gripping and -- He can’t seem to stop himself or direct himself to do anything besides aimlessly grope Ten’s pretty body and kiss his hot mouth. 

Luckily, Ten handles it like he handles everything else. A few minutes later -- or maybe a few hours, Yukhei isn’t even sure -- Ten grabs Yukhei around the shoulders, plants a foot, does something strong and sexy with his hips, and flips them over. 

They’re dangerously close to the edge of the bed, but Yukhei’s on his back and Ten is straddling his lap, grinning.

“I want to blow you.”

Yukhei’s heart pounds dangerously hard. “That sounds good,” Yukhei says, trying to flatten his voice so it doesn’t squeeze out of him in excitement. 

Usually, he’s more calm than this. More suave, more in control. His whole cool guy attitude exists for a reason, he _is_ that guy, but all Ten has ever had to do is bat his lashes and Yukhei is already playing along. Sometimes they’re playing together and other times they’re antagonizing each other, but if Ten is offering his hand, Yukhei is going to hold it.

There’s no reason it would be any different between them in bed.

There’s a significant pause where Ten simply looks at him, dark eyes sweeping over and down Yukhei’s body, tip of his tongue against his top lip in concentration. 

“What what what?” Yukhei asks, close to whining.

“I’m thinking,” Ten announces, petting over Yukhei’s chest. He slides the pad of his thumb over Yukhei’s nipple, and then does it again with the edge of a nail. Yukhei hisses, body arching. “I have a list.”

“A list?”

“I’ve thought about it,” Ten says plainly. 

Yukhei reaches out to grab Ten’s wrist before he can stop himself, needing a moment to process that. It’s a loose hold that Ten deftly turns it into a hand hold, smiling in a way that makes the dimple above the corner of his mouth deepen. 

“What what what?” Ten says brightly. 

“What have you thought about?” Yukhei’s voice is rough, thrilled.

“Your hands, mostly,” Ten teases, loosening his hold; his other hand grabs Yukhei’s wrist so he can run his nails from the top of Yukhei’s fingers to the bottom of his palm. “I think about them _so_ much. How big they are.”

“Yeah?” Yukhei prompts, feeling dizzy. 

“I thought about them in the shower,” Ten says, grinning wickedly before using his front teeth to bite into the heel of Yukhei’s hand, a sharp nip that makes the base of Yukhei’s scalp tingle. “Thought about you in there with me -- touching me.”

“But you didn’t let me take a shower with you,” Yukhei complains, trying to get his brain to participate in what’s happening instead of staring at Ten dumbly, waiting for him to do whatever he wants. 

“Gotta keep some of the mystery alive, baby.”

Before Yukhei can reflect on that for too long, Ten’s hot little tongue slides up the length of his first two fingers, up the crease of them -- and, fuck, who knew the inside of his fingers were so _sensitive_. Yukhei feels like he’s been lit on fire, his whole body one writhing nerve ending that Ten gets to touch and tease. 

It’s nearly unbearable, the slick warmth of his tongue and the hint of his teeth on the underside of Yukhei’s fingers, and _then_ Ten’s mouth sinks down around them, loose and wet. It’s a mistake to look up at Ten’s face. When he does, Ten is already watching him, cheeks hollow and eyes focused in a way that makes Yukhei groan. 

It should look stupid, Ten on his knees and hunched down, both hands holding onto Yukhei’s one, holding it steady as he fucks two of Yukhei’s fingers into his mouth, but it’s probably the sexiest thing that’s ever happened to Yukhei’s hands and he’s had them like, inside people. 

“What else do you think about?” Yukhei asks, breathless and whiny at the same time. He doesn’t think he can handle Ten fellating his fingers for much longer, he’ll start begging. 

Ten grins and pops off his fingers with a slurp, lips glossy. He bites at the tips of Yukhei’s fingers, runs his tongue over the base where his spit is cooling in the web, and bites there too. 

“I think about touching you,” Ten says softly, biting at Yukhei’s palm again. Then higher and harder, teeth digging into the thin skin inside Yukhei’s wrist. It feels so good Yukhei groans, loudly. “Think about how you’d react if I did.” He kisses Yukhei’s forearms, bites again at the soft pit of his elbow. “What sounds you would make.”

Ten moves up, freeing up Yukhei’s hands to _touch_ \-- to slide down Ten’s sides, and trace the curve of his hips, and grip at his waist -- desperate and in need of anchoring. Yukhei can feel how hard and hot Ten is through his shorts, and Yukhei wants to touch his dick _so_ badly, but he waits for Ten to lead. Whatever Ten wants, Yukhei wants that too.

Ten laughs as Yukhei squeezes and kneads at him aimlessly before dropping a kiss on Yukhei's shoulder, his collar, his neck. There’s teeth again, this time at Yukhei’s jaw, nibbling at the corner of it. Then, his ear; biting and licking up the shell and back down before sucking Yukhei’s earlobe into his mouth.

Yukhei has never in his _life_ had someone’s mouth on his ear, and he’s pretty sure he’s going to fucking _die_. 

“Ah, Ten!” he squeaks, which makes Ten suck harder. Yukhei can feel his tongue too, soft but deliberate, tracing the outside slowly as his mouth pulls. He starts biting again, little tugs like a cat with a toy. 

“I love your ears so fucking much, Xuxi,” Ten giggles, but he’s already moving on, mouth tracing wetly down Yukhei’s jaw, his collarbone, his chest -- tip of his tongue tracing right over Yukhei’s sternum where his heart is pounding so hard, there’s no doubt Ten can feel it against his mouth. 

It’s so weird, and so unbearably sexy.

“Mm, pretty,” Ten purrs, when he finally gets around to tugging off Yukhei’s shorts, gaze fixed on Yukhei’s cock where it bounces free, slapping heavy against his belly. He’s so hard, he feels like he’s going to vibrate out of his skin as Ten gets a hand around him and pumps twice, second one drawing down his foreskin so his head peeks out, shiny and dark. 

“Holy shit,” Yukhei whines, head dropping back. Just for a minute, just to center himself.

“Xuxi, you have to watch,” Ten says, sing-song and smug as Yukhei picks his head back up and arranges the pillows so he _can_ watch. The smile that curves his mouth when Yukhei obeys is soft, sweet. “Good boy.”

Yukhei groans.

“Just watch,” Ten mutters, barely loud enough to hear before he ducks his head like he's kowtowing to Yukhei's dick. 

Except instead of bowing low with his gaze to the floor, he meets Yukhei’s eyes and licks the entire length of his dick with the flat of his tongue, pink and gleaming with spit. There's so much spit it trails, drooping and shiny, from the head of Yukhei's dick to the curl of Ten's tongue as he pulls away. 

Ten does it again and again, getting Yukhei wet and sloppy, before swallowing him down completely. 

Ten sucks dick with the same single-minded determination he has when he’s on stage; focused, controlled, and smoldering with purpose. The image of his sharp, dark eyes watching Yukhei as he gags himself on Yukhei’s cock will forever be seared into Yukhei’s brain.

“Fuck, you’re so good at that,” Yukhei groans clichely, hands flexing in the sheets as Ten wraps his hand around what doesn’t fit in his mouth, bobbing wetly a few times.

When Ten pulls back, he sucks hard, using covered teeth to stretch Yukhei’s foreskin over the head of his dick and pulling it out until it’s taut before letting it fall from his mouth.

“You’re so loose,” Ten says quietly. It doesn't sound like he’s talking to Yukhei. 

His thumb traces the edge of Yukhei’s foreskin, making Yukhei’s thighs tense. The tip of his thumb slips under just enough to make space, rubbing against the sensitive ridge of Yukhei’s head. The whine escapes Yukhei is embarrassing, but not nearly as embarrassing as the noise he makes when Ten replaces his thumb with his tongue, sliding it wetly between his foreskin and the head of his dick. 

“ _Oh shit_ ,” Yukhei exhales, all in one breath. 

Ten hums -- mouth open, tongue out. Yukhei watches the way it moves under his foreskin, hypnotized. When it slips out, Yukhei whines again. 

Ten keeps the space with his thumb, and flutters his lashes. “Baby~” he says, lips right up against Yukhei’s dick, vibrating softly. “Feel good?”

Yukhei nods dumbly, stricken. Ten smirks and Yukhei watches as he circles Yukhei’s dick with his finger, sliding it in alongside his thumb. His thumb slips out and a second finger slips in. Yukhei’s foreskin stretches easily around Ten’s fingers as he traces the head of Yukhei’s dick before fucking the two fingers in and out of Yukhei’s foreskin, going deeper everytime.

When Ten pulls his fingers out, the skin up to his second knuckle is glossy, wet with spit and precome. When he pushes them back in, he watches Yukhei, eyes hot and dark on Yukhei’s face. 

Yukhei is torn between watching back and watching Ten’s fingers and closing his eyes completely, overwhelmed by how good it feels. It feels dirty, too. Slick, hot, _tight_. He can’t keep his hips from pushing up the smallest amount, seeking more friction. It feels impossibly good, but it’s not enough to get him off.

“Ten-ah.” Yukhei tries to sound more exasperated than desperate, but he can’t help the way he whines when Ten pushes in even deeper. He can’t help it when he reaches down and circles his cock, squeezing just enough to take the edge off before stroking his thumb over Ten’s fingers where they’re still inside his foreskin.

“Do you want to come?” Ten asks, voice light and thoughtful like he’s not ruining Yukhei’s life completely.

“Maybe,” Yukhei admits, not knowing what the right answer might be. It’s a miracle he can even respond.

“You can,” Ten says slowly. They’re still holding hands with Yukhei’s dick. Yukhei lets his hand slide down, giving the base of his cock a squeeze before letting his hand tangle in the bedding. Ten does the thing again -- slides his fingers in deeper and pulls them out slowly, tracing the ridge of Yukhei’s cockhead when he gets there. “Or, you can fuck me.”

“ _Ah_ , I --” Yukhei pants softly. He would like that very much. “Yeah, we can do that.”

Ten grins and pulls his fingers out from Yukhei’s foreskin. There’s another glimpse of glistening knuckles before he pops both fingers in his mouth, watching Yukhei consideringly. It’s industrious, hollowed cheeks and hard sucks and a peek of tongue before he pulls them out again, free of precome. 

“You drive me crazy,” Yukhei says in Cantonese, but it’s fond and soft. Ten’s eyes narrow thoughtfully, hand still hovering around his mouth, and Yukhei is overwhelmed by the urge to be on top of Ten and squish him a little. 

So that’s exactly what he does -- lifts his hips, grabs Ten around his tiny waist, flips them over, and pins Ten with his weight. The noise Ten lets out is halfway between pure surprise and delight, a hiccuping giggle that gets caught in his throat when Yukhei noses at his neck. 

Yukhei pulls back so he can look at Ten for a moment, shaking himself out of the haze Ten’s professional dick sucking put him in. Ten is watching him back, proud jaw and cat-like eyes, body relaxed and waiting. His cheeks are so pink, all the way to his ears, down his throat to his belly.

It’s a mystery how the next part plays out. If Yukhei did some soul-searching at any point before this moment -- the moment where he grabs hold of Ten’s tiny shorts and tugs them down his slim hips -- he would have expected himself to hesitate. 

Truth is, he has never touched anyone else’s dick before. Any thoughts he has had about them are vague. Sexy, but incredibly vague. He has one, he knows he likes them, that has been enough up to this point. They’re fun; great to handle, fantastic comedic centerpieces, but he didn’t expect himself to pull Ten’s shorts off and be ready to deal with Ten’s dick. 

Turns out, he’s completely taken with the way it bounces when freed from its fabric prison, dark and glossy with precum around the head. Ten kicks his shorts off the bed and resettles against the pillows, and Yukhei _looks_.

He knows Ten is watching him with dark eyes and his pleased mouth, but he doesn’t look up, still trying to recontextualize Ten’s body from all the other times he’s seen it. This is another difference. Around the dorm, they’re all comfortable in shorts and shirtless, but naked is different. Naked is uninterrupted skin from Ten’s head all the way down to his pretty feet. The heavy rise and fall of his flushed chest, flat front of his hips, his dick jutting out, smooth and hairless all over like Yukhei knew he would be. 

Yukhei wants to eat him whole.

Ten's foreskin is tight, hugging the dark head of his cock, barely moving as Ten gets a hand around himself and groans. Now Yukhei understands why Ten said _you're so loose_ the way he did. Certainly no space for fingers, Yukhei thinks sadly. The foreskin finger fucking changed his life. 

Ten’s knuckles are pink. Yukhei licks them. And the head of Ten’s dick.

Ten lets go with a soft little, “ _oh_ ,” relaxing into the pillows.

Yukhei is tempted to tease him, use his boyfriend voice to tell Ten to _watch_ like Ten did to him minutes before, but the visuals are where his confidence fails him. He has no idea what his face is going to look like sucking Ten’s dick, and he knows he’s going to go for it. 

Confidence is key, or whatever. 

Sucking dick turns out to be weirdly meditative. It’s a full sensory experience. Hot hands against Ten’s skin -- one on the inside of his thigh, the other holding Ten loosely and guiding him to Yukhei’s mouth -- the weight of Ten’s cock on his tongue, the slick salt of his precum. The way Ten _sounds_ , high and sweet. The bite of his nails in Yukhei’s shoulder before his hand slides to Yukhei’s hair and twists. It’s deliciously painful. Yukhei is delirious with sensation.

Yukhei doesn’t have the laser focus Ten does, trying to see how much he can fit in his mouth at a time and how sensitive his gag reflex is. The answer is nearly all of it, and not very. Which is thrilling, since he is going to be sucking more dick in the future. 

He knows he’s thinking about it too much -- whether it’s too wet or too sloppy, too loose, whatever -- but Ten still has a hold on his hair and he hasn’t stopped making the noises so Yukhei lets himself get into a rhythm and lose himself in it a little. 

It could be minutes, or hours, later that Yukhei feels Ten’s thigh tense under his left hand and his dick go stiff in his mouth, and Yukhei thrills at the idea of making him come, tightening his grip only for Ten to tug him up by his hair so hard he whines.

Yukhei glares as he pops off, panting and mouth buzzing. The noise is _wet_. Yukhei was sucking dick! Efficiently, even.

“You were going to come!” he says, too loud. His voice is a little rough, but not any rougher than it gets when he’s horny. Maybe the blow job voice is about how far he manages to get Ten down his throat, he’ll remember that for next time.

“I was,” Ten agrees readily. 

Yukhei pouts at him. 

“I want you to fuck me,” Ten reminds him gently, reaching for the otter bag, forgotten on the bed next to them, waiting. When Ten fumbles it open with his free hand, there’s packets inside; condoms and lube.

Yukhei flushes. “Right.”

Ten cocks his head. “You did so good,” he purrs, after a beat of silence. His hand slides from the crown of Yukhei’s head to his ear, tracing the shell and making him shiver. “I liked it a lot.”

Sometimes it’s shocking how easily Ten reads him, but there’s a thrill of delight in Ten knowing him so well. “I’ve never done that before,” Yukhei admits, letting himself up so he’s chest to chest. When Ten’s hand falls from his ear to circle his own cock, and the back of his knuckles brush Yukhei’s stomach, his cock. 

It feels like he’s been hard for his entire life at this point. Being turned on has been less important than getting from point A to point B with Ten, but Yukhei is burning with it; he can feel it everywhere, hot all over and wound so tight. Made infinitely worse when Ten runs his knuckles up and then down again, teasing. 

“Does that mean you haven’t done the next part either?” Ten asks, voice squeezing in what can only be poorly restrained glee. 

Yukhei groans and drops his weight, smushing Ten underneath him. Ten cackles, and wheezes, and bites Yukhei’s shoulder. 

“Oh my baby,” Ten coos, still giggling. He sounds unbearably fond. “Don’t worry, I did most of the work for you.”

“Ah?” Yukhei asks, dazed. 

“Long showers.” 

Ten shifts his weight pointedly, shoulder and hip pushing up, and Yukhei lets himself be turned over onto his back, prodded back towards the middle of the bed when he shifts too far over. When Ten straddles Yukhei’s hips, he leans in for a kiss, licking the roof of Yukhei’s mouth, tongue slick over the back of his teeth. 

And then they’re kissing again, deep and needy. Ten grabs at him, hands in his hair, twisting and pulling before sliding down his neck and groping at his chest -- nail scraping his nipple, down his belly. Yukhei is _desperate_ for Ten to be closer, winding an arm around his middle just to pull him in, in, in. He swallows down every noise, chases after Ten’s mouth when he teasingly pulls away. Everything is hazy, Ten licks at his neck and hums, then his ear -- and then sucks it in his mouth, rolling the lobe against his tongue before he bites it and tugs. 

Yukhei groans and tries to pull him even closer. 

“You have to sit up,” Ten says, with another friendly nibble and a quick nuzzle to Yukhei’s neck. “If I ride you like this you’re going to come in like 10 seconds.”

“Ha, _ten_ seconds,” Yukhei giggles. “It’s going to be quick anyway, just ride me.”

The look on Ten’s face is fond, but he rolls his eyes. “I _will_ ,” Ten says, pulling back and away. Yukhei misses him immediately, and pouts. This is torture. “Sit up, and I’ll ride you.”

Okay, magic words. 

Ten arranges them so Yukhei is sitting back against the headboard, and Ten is straddling him once again. It doesn’t seem too different from what they were just doing, but Ten’s hands are on Yukhei’s jaw, guiding him into another rough kiss, so Yukhei doesn’t actually care. 

There’s other stuff, too. Ten groping around for the butt stuff, and Yukhei groping Ten. And the kissing, so much kissing; Yukhei likes kissing so, _so_ much. And he can’t stop touching Ten, running his hands up Ten’s sides and grabbing his hips and his ass. 

By the time Ten wrenches open the lube, he’s squirming in Yukhei’s lap impatiently. “This is pretty straight forward,” he says, watching Yukhei’s fingers as he squeezes the lube out. His eyes are dark, _hungry_. “You’ve fingered someone before, right?” 

“Yeah,” Yukhei says, a little breathless. It’s one of those moments where he’s like _, oh god this happening_. It’s happening, he’s having sex with Ten. Ten wants Yukhei to finger him. Oh god. 

“Great,” Ten laughs, giddy. “Start with two, okay?” Ten has a hand on Yukhei’s forearm, guiding his hand back. “This is a stupid position, but -- feel, and push --” Yukhei does, and Ten’s breath hitches loudly. “ _Fuck_.”

“Yeah,” Yukhei agrees, dazed. 

It’s not _unlike_ fingering a pussy. It’s still his fingers, still deep inside someone. Muscle memory takes over; he’s had people on his lap before, arching into him as he finger banged them into messy orgasms. He can do this. 

And Ten keeps making these noises, little gasps and groans that remind Yukhei how hard his cock is and how ready he is to come. He has been hard for his _entire life_ at this point.

“Did you do this already?” he asks, because he thought it would be a little harder to get Ten to this point -- whimpering and whining and squirming on Yukhei’s hand, beautiful and needy.

“Yeah,” Ten whimpers. “In the shower, that’s why you couldn’t --”

“I could have helped,” Yukhei says, nuzzling forward into Ten’s chest. He’s so hot, blistering as Yukhei rubs his face against his skin. It’s stupid, but Yukhei needs something to do with his fucking mouth. “Kiss me.”

“Demanding,” Ten says, but he leans down to do just that, hands free to guide Yukhei into a kiss. It’s sloppy, Ten keeps breaking away to pant into Yukhei’s mouth whenever he does anything purposeful with his fingers. 

“Okay, we should --”

Ten shakes his head, “One more.”

One more, it is. Yukhei pulls Ten in so their chests press together and bites kisses against his mouth as he slides another finger in. Ten arches into him, closer still, hand back in Yukhei’s hair, and they rock together.

By the time Ten decides he’s ready to get fucked, they’re both messes. It’s slick everywhere -- lube and sweat -- Yukhei’s whole hand and Ten’s ass and every place they’re touching. Ten’s hand shakes as he tries to open the condom. His hands slip, he has to use his ring finger to tear along the side because his first two are cut shorter than the rest. 

Yukhei giggles helplessly. 

“What what what?” Ten demands, aggressively tossing the foil to the side.

“You’re cute,” Yukhei says, pulling his fingers out of Ten slowly. Ten groans like it’s unbearable, hips hitching down as if he’s going to follow Yukhei’s hand and keep him inside. Which is so fucking hot, Yukhei can barely deal with the thought. 

Yukhei wipes his hand on the bed so it’s less slippery, helping Ten unroll the condom. 

“You’re _so_ gross,” Ten grouses, lifting up so they can line everything up; Ten’s hands on Yukhei’s dick and Yukhei’s hands on Ten’s waist. Yukhei grins and doesn’t bother responding. Ten always knows. The bedspread is _not_ the most important thing happening at the moment. 

Yukhei’s brain whites out when Ten finally sits on him, gripping Ten’s hips so tightly he’s sure there are going to leave marks. It’s almost too much to go from wanting it so badly he thinks he’s going to come at the mere thought to Ten’s loud, “oh my _god_ ,” as he gets settled. He’s so tight and hot inside, it’s like all the air is being squeezed out of Yukhei’s lungs through his dick.

“You’re in my stomach,” Ten groans, hand dropping to his belly like Yukhei is actually bulging there, fingers pressing in a tiny bit before trailing his hand up his chest and pinching his own nipple absently. He rocks hips and moans. “Maybe my _throat_.”

“I was earlier,” Yukhei reminds him, eyes on Ten; he can’t stop watching. His words make Ten hiccup a laugh and grin brightly. He’s so pretty -- face flushed red, gloss of sweat at his throat, bruised lips -- watching Yukhei and wanting Yukhei in all the ways Yukhei wants him. Awe is a warm feeling.

“Are you thinking sappy thoughts?” Ten asks slyly.

“You’re so pretty,” Yukhei says, and lets himself be drawn into a kiss. 

It slows down again, with Ten on top like this. Which is probably why they switched in the first place. Ten kisses Yukhei thoroughly, hands on his cheeks to keep him close. Deep kisses and shallow kisses, teasing tongue and teeth. He rides Yukhei slowly, thighs doing most of the work as he distracts Yukhei with his mouth. 

It takes everything in Yukhei not to move more, not to thrust harder. He stays still and behaves, even as his grip on Ten remains bruising. Ten doesn’t seem to mind, peeking from under his lashes at Yukhei as he works his hips. He’s as fluid riding Yukhei’s cock as he is when he’s dancing; long, beautiful lines of muscle moving with purpose. 

Yukhei is lost in the haze of it. Desperate to come, but more than that, desperate to keep feeling Ten for longer, tighter, deeper. Yukhei groans helplessly as Ten grinds down, completely lost in him. 

“Here, touch me,” Ten says, after a few hopeless minutes of Yukhei holding onto him for dear life and not much else. He guides Yukhei’s hand to his cock, hot and hard between them. “Loose and slow, match me.”

It’s almost impossible to match him once he starts sucking on Yukhei’s ear again, but Yukhei does his best, fist loose and slick with lube. The noises Ten makes when Yukhei toys with the head of his cock are exquisite.

It takes so much longer than Yukhei expects for either of them to come. Ten is lazy about it, completely focused on kissing Yukhei and sucking his ears and drawing it out for as long as possible. 

Yukhei isn’t complaining, but he can feel it inside of him. Not the orgasm, but everything _else_. The touching, the way Ten is doing it with so much purpose. The way he knows exactly how to touch Yukhei, his hands over his throat and collar, grabbing and holding. The dark, possessive look in his eyes before he kisses Yukhei again and again.

The warmth, the ownership, the desire all sits in Yukhei’s chest and expands out and out and out, and Ten’s hands and mouth and body draw it out of him more and more and more. Yukhei can feel it, eyes squeezing tight as Ten grinds harder. He draws everything out of Yukhei’s body, wrings him out and leaves him blissfully empty, breathing hard.

It’s overwhelming. 

Eventually, Ten starts grinding down with more determination and things speed back up again. Ten starts getting louder, fucking himself on Yukhei’s dick. It’s lovely to watch him, to _feel him_. They’re so sweaty, it should be so gross, but all Yukhei wants to do is lick him -- so he does, the hollow of his throat, tongue flicking against Ten’s jaw. 

Ten groans and arches and slides his hand up his dick, forcing Yukhei’s away, so Yukhei grabs Ten’s ass and fucks up into him as best as he can. There’s not much room, but it’s more friction than they were getting. Yukhei watches Ten’s red chest and his ruddy dick and his pink knuckles as he strokes himself off. 

When Ten starts clenching up, Yukhei’s eyes slam shut. 

“Xuxi, _watch_ ,” Ten grunts, insufferable to the end. 

Yukhei pries his eyes open in time to see Ten throw his head back and come all over Yukhei’s stomach and chest. Yukhei’s hand slides up Ten’s back and pulls him in close for another kiss as Yukhei follows quickly, grunting Ten’s name.

There are lots of sensations, Yukhei is sure, in his body and brain, but mostly all he gets is the roar of his pulse in his ears and the blissful blankness of a good nut. Maybe an overwhelming surge of undefinable emotion that makes his throat feel thick as he kisses Ten softer, satisfied.

“ _Baby_ ,” Ten purrs, sweetly.

Yukhei nuzzles Ten’s neck and sniffles. 

“You’re such a baby,” Ten teases, hands through Yukhei’s hair, rubbing his nape. “My giant baby.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Yukhei says, throat gummy. He bites at Ten’s neck gently. It’s warm and salty with sweat. “I love you.”

It’s something he usually says. To Ten, to the other members, to their manager hyung. He is effusive about it, misses everyone far too much to be stingy with his words when he cares for everyone around him in the ways that he does, but --

But after hotel floor confessions, while he’s still inside Ten and holding him close while Yukhei’s heart pounds in his chest? Nerve wracking. He can feel both their hearts, actually. Through his chest and where his palm is flat against Ten’s back, waiting. 

“I love you, too,” Ten hums, pressing another kiss to Yukhei’s mouth; soft and sweet and sincere. When they part, his face is grave, “This bed is disgusting.” 

Yukhei laughs as Ten sighs noisily and he lifts himself up on his thighs. Yukhei’s dick slips out, heavy as it goes soft. Ten grabs the corner of the nearest blanket and wipes his dick off thoroughly before giving Yukhei’s stomach a scrub. 

“We’ll have to sleep in mine,” Ten says, after they’re both mostly clean and the blanket is flung away.

An even louder laugh bursts out of Yukhei, surprised. Oh, of course. “I thought it was dirty,” he teases, delighting in the way Ten rolls his eyes and tries not to smile. “So wet!”

“No, you didn’t,” Ten says, eyes narrowing suspiciously. He’s so cute and funny, Yukhei can’t keep the grin off his face. “You didn’t think it was dirty.”

“I play along so well~” Yukhei says cutely in Korean.

Ten hits him with a pillow. 

They dissolve into giggles, falling into each other easily. Yukhei grabs Ten around the waist and rolls them onto their sides, tugging Ten in close. The cuddle they fall into is perfect, legs slotting together, soft dicks resting comfortably between them. They are still so sticky, but he’s so tired all of a sudden, like coming down off a sugar high; exhausted from the sun and emotion and coming his brains out with Ten. He bites the tip of Ten’s nose gently. 

“So,” Ten says slowly when Yukhei draws away. There’s a mischievous smile in the corner of his mouth that he’s trying desperately to hide. Yukhei knows what he’s going to say before he says it. “How did you like our date today?”

“It was okay,” Yukhei decides, just to see the fake outrage on Ten’s face. Ten doesn’t disappoint, mouth dropping open in surprise as Yukhei raises his hands defensively. It’s a tight fit, they’re still so close. “I was confused! Ten-ge!”

“Ah, _Xuxi_ ,” Ten complains, but he’s grinning, grabbing Yukhei around his wrists, tightening his thighs around Yukhei’s leg. Yukhei feels trapped. It’s a lovely feeling. “Think about it now.” Ten sounds so whiny. “If you knew.”

“If I _knew_ , it would have been perfect,” Yukhei says. Without the general confusion over what the hell Ten was talking about, and without his brain working overtime when it came to the stupid, lovely, adorable otter bag. It would have been perfect. 

“Fine, I’ll just plan more dates,” Ten says, put out and obviously grumpy about it. It’s apparent he’s as tired as Yukhei is, but his eyes are lit up with challenge. “Then you’ll see, I’m going to date you so good.”

Yukhei hums, knowing he could take this further, challenge Ten and make him promise Yukhei all sorts of things for the future, but Yukhei is tired and warm all the way from the inside out thinking about more dates, and dates he knows are dates, and Ten in his bed after those dates. 

“You better,” he says after a moment of letting Ten bask in his triumph. 

Ten squawks loudly, wriggling in Yukhei’s grip -- to protest, Yukhei knows, maybe wrestle him to the floor again, but Yukhei doesn’t have the energy. He squishes Ten in his arms until Ten laughs himself into quiet stillness and gropes around for Ten’s hand to lace their fingers together, letting the butterflies overwhelm him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for visiting Dubai xo
> 
> [tumblr](https://alexenglish.tumblr.com/post/644244489334079488/dubai-baby-pairing-tenlucas-rating-explicit-word) |[twitter](https://twitter.com/idolvoreship/status/1365515505130295302?s=20)


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